Vol. 533 No. 6
282 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will investigate allegations that old age pensioners in psychiatric hospitals and long-stay wards are being charged £60 to £70 per week by some health boards, even though they have medical cards and are entitled to free medical care; and if he will carry out a full investigation of the situation in the wake of the report by the Ombudsman on nursing home subventions. [10019/01]
Long-stay charges can be made under two sets of regulations. Charges can be made under the Institutional Assistance Regulations, 1965, where the patient receives "shelter and maintenance" rather than treatment. These charges apply from the date of admission and are payable by all patients who are in receipt of incomes including medical card holders and persons with dependants.
Charges can also be made under the Health (Charges for In-Patient Services) Regulations, 1976, as amended by the Health (Charges for In-Patient Services) (Amendment) Regulations, 1987. These regulations enable charges to be made towards the cost of providing hospital in-patient services for persons with income who have been in receipt of such services for more than 30 days or for periods totalling more than 30 days within the previous 12 months.
Medical card holders and persons with dependants are exempt from these charges. In practice, however, persons in health board long-stay care do not usually hold medical cards as the board meets the cost of all of the person's health needs and, thus, the person ceases to qualify for a medical card in accordance with the criteria laid down in section 45 of the Health Act, 1970.
