Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2013
546. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the total number of full medical cards issued and general practitioner cards now in circulation; the number of new cards that have been issued; the number that have been withdrawn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14013/13]
View answerI am advised by the HSE that as at 1st March 2013, the number of eligible persons with medical cards was 1,857,833 and the number of eligible persons with GP visit cards was 130,169 (please see attached sheet).
The information sought by the Deputy on the number of new cards that have been issued and the number that have been withdrawn is not readily available in the format requested. The numbers are not clear for presentation and can cause confusion. There are a number of reasons for this, e.g. there is an element of churn involved in any time period as clients can lose eligibility for a period of time due to non response etc., which is subsequently approved on review following appropriate engagement with the HSE by the client. In addition Medical cards are issued on an ongoing basis in respect of new applicants and in respect of applicants on review. It is not possible to clearly identify what is a ‘new’ card, as a client may have held and lost eligibility in the past, at any time, even a number of months ago, and on a number of occasions over a prolonged period as their circumstances change.
To date the Central Office has processed 820,873 applications for Medical Cards with 95.38% of completed applications been processed within 15 working days. The remaining 4.62% are being processed. These applications predominantly relate to applicants whose assessable income is in excess of the financial guidelines, and who are claiming undue medical hardship. The HSE has arrangements in place for Medical Officers to review such cases. The appointment of additional Medical Officers has reduced the number of applications currently waiting for Medical Officer assessment. The target turnaround time for discretionary medical cards is 20 working days. These figures are updated on a weekly basis and can be viewed on www.medicalcard.ie
