Vol. 512 No. 3
217 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children the expected outturn for the overall cost of the medical card scheme for 1999; the estimated cost for the year 2000; and the approximate cost of extending the scheme to cover all pensioners over the age of 66. [25966/99]
The following is the information sought by the Deputy as provided by the General Medical Services (Payments) Board: expected overall cost of the General Medical Services Scheme in 1999 – £341 million; estimated cost of the GMS scheme in year 2000 – £361 million and approximate annual cost of extending the scheme to all persons over 66 years of age without medical cards – £24 million.
