Vol. 542 No. 5
312 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children when the payment of arrears of subvention due to a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be paid; if his Department has funded the health board to enable arrears to be paid; if an assessment of the arrears due under this provision for the South Eastern Health Board area has been made; and if so, the amount which is due. [25073/01]
322 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the total cost of arrears of nursing home subventions payable to the Southern Health Board area; the directions which have been issued to the Southern Health Board regarding the payment of arrears of nursing home subventions; the date of these; and if specific funds have been made available to discharge the amounts due. [25176/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 322 together.
The provision which allowed for the assessment of the capacity of the adult sons and-or daughters of older people who applied for nursing home subventions to contribute towards the cost of their parent's nursing home care was deleted from 1 January 1999. As the Deputies are aware, it has been decided that moneys should be paid to those who were adversely affected by this provision.
A group representing the Department, the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority was established to ensure that this process is carried out on a uniform basis as speedily as possible. Instructions as to how the payments should be made issued recently from my Department and funding has been made available to commence the making of these payments from 1 November 2001. To date, costings are still being carried out in each health board area and, consequently, the precise total cost of payments has not yet been calculated.
In relation to the case referred to by Deputy McGuinness, as the provision of health services in the Kilkenny area is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board, I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate this case and respond directly to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.
313 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Health and Children the financial assistance which will be given to a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; the way in which the assessment is carried out to determine the contribution this person must make; and if the local health board contributes to the cost structure. [25074/01]
The second schedule of the Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, sets out the general rules for the assessment of means in respect of an application for a nursing home subvention. "Means" for the purposes of these regulations are the income and the imputed value of assets of a person in respect of whom a subvention is being sought and the income and imputed income of his or her spouse. Means are assessed for this scheme to ensure that the available funding is directed at those older people who have the greatest need of financial assistance.
There are three maximum rates of subvention payable, £90, £120 and £150 or 114.28, 152.37 and 190.46, respectively, in accordance with three levels of dependency, medium, high and maximum, which are eligible for subvention. The new rates, which represent a 25% increase, were introduced on 1 April last.
The provision of health services in the Carlow area is a matter for the South-Eastern Health Board. In this regard, I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate this case and respond directly to the Deputy as a matter of urgency.
314 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount allowed to the Southern Health Board in order to pay enhanced subvention to nursing homes in 2001; if his Department has been requested to allow further payments; the number of applications awaiting decision in the Southern Health Board area; his estimate of the amount of extra money required in 2001; his plans to make further resources available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25167/01]
The Nursing Homes (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, are administered by the health boards and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. A health board may pay more than the maximum rate of subvention relative to an individual's level of dependency, for example, in cases where personal funds are exhausted. Articles 22.3 and 22.4 of the Nursing Home (Subvention) Regulations, 1993, permit health boards to contract beds in private nursing homes and to pay more than the maximum rates of subvention in such cases. However, the application of these provisions is a matter for the individual health board concerned in the context of meeting increasing demands for subventions within the board's revenue allocation as notified annually in the letters of determination. This is in keeping with the provisions of the Health (Amendment) (No. 3) Act, 1996.
The Southern Health Board has received a significantly increased number of claims from patients for enhanced payments in accordance with Articles 22.3 and 22.4. I am advised by the board that the number of new applications for contract bed-enhanced subvention awaiting decision is 179 with a further 56 applications awaiting decision in relation to increased rates of enhanced subvention. The board estimates that the additional cost of meeting the claims would be £400,000, 507,895, in 2001 and £2.5 million, 3,174,345, in a full year.
