Vol. 517 No. 3
176 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the new GMS guidelines on eligibility, recently issued, allowed no increases for those under 70 years of age which will result in a large number of medical card holders being excluded from the scheme. [9541/00]
Entitlement to health services in Ireland is primarily based on means. Under the Health Act, 1970, determination of eligibility for medical cards is the responsibility of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board. Medical cards are issued to persons who, in the opinion of the chief executive officer, are unable to provide general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants without undue hardship.
Income guidelines are drawn up to assist in the determination of a person's eligibility and these are revised annually in line with the consumer price index. In this respect, the guidelines were last increased on 1 January 2000. These increases applied to all age groups. The guidelines are not statutorily binding and even though a person's income exceeds the guidelines, a medical card may still be awarded if the chief executive officer considers that his-her medical needs or other circumstances would justify this.
The Deputy will be aware that the Government identified in its programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, the need to review medical card eligibility for the elderly and large families. On the basis that resources should be concentrated on those most in need the Government decided that the income guidelines for entitlement to medical cards for persons aged 70 years or over should be doubled. This improvement, which is being introduced over a three year period, began on 1 March 1999 with the normal guidelines being increased by one-third. The second stage of this process was implemented on 1 March 2000 and the third stage will be implemented in March 2001. This measure is additional to the normal increase in guidelines which are revised annually in line with the consumer price index and apply to all age categories.
The Deputy may be aware that the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness refers to the fact that health board chief executive officers are examining the operation of the medical card scheme and will consult the social partners by the end of 2000. Particular emphasis will be placed on the needs of families with children and on removing anomalies and barriers to take-up, including information deficits.
