Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2013
220. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Health when he will bring forward a transparent framework for negotiations for nursing home care under the fair deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33950/13]
View answerIn order to be an ‘approved nursing home’ for the purposes of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, all private and voluntary nursing homes must negotiate and agree a price for the cost of care with the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF). This is a necessary feature of the Scheme due to the commitment by the State to meet the full balance of the cost of care over and above a person's contribution. The NTPF has statutory independence in the performance of this function and, in carrying it out, it must ensure value for money for both the individual and the State. If price negotiations break down, a three stage review process can be invoked. Details of the process are set out on the NTPF website.
When the Nursing Homes Support Scheme commenced in October, 2009, a commitment was made that it would be reviewed after three years. The reason for allowing this period to elapse is to ensure that trends and statistics will be available in order to inform the work. The Terms of Reference for the review of the Scheme include an examination of the overall cost of long-term residential care in public and private nursing homes and the effectiveness of the current methods of negotiating/setting prices. Work will continue on the review in the coming months with a view to completion by end 2013/early 2014. As the Scheme is statutory based, the implementation of any recommendations arising from the review may require amendments to the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act, 2009.
