Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 October 2013
191. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Health if he is confident that the structures and systems are in place for the introduction of money following the patient in January 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42833/13]
View answerMy Department is working closely with the HSE to ensure that full phased implementation of Money Follows the Patient (MFTP) will commence from January 2014. I am confident that all necessary steps are being taken to deliver the new funding model in line with this target date.
Progress has been made on a number of areas in this regard including completion of a “State of Readiness” review by an internationally recognised expert in MFTP. The purpose of this review was to assess the health system’s capacity to roll out MFTP in public hospitals. I am happy to report that the assessment concludes that the Irish health system exhibits the key components required for a MFTP funding system and is in a strong position to begin phased implementation of MFTP in line with the target date of 2014.
The Department and HSE have also been working towards the establishment of a National Pricing Office from January 2014. This Office will be comprised of staff working in the HSE Casemix Programme and the ESRI Health Information and Research Division. Its main functions will be to set the national Diagnosis Related Group prices, on which the MFTP system is based, and manage the HIPE dataset.
Preparations are now being made for the commencement, in November, of a shadow funding exercise in a selection of hospitals from across the hospital groups. This exercise will involve hospitals continuing to receive their existing base budgets. However, a process will be put in place to: (i) compare on a systematic basis, actual hospital activity against baseline activity targets; and (ii) inform hospitals of what the financial implications of any variance from the targets would be in a “live” system, without changing budgets during the shadow period. This will be a valuable learning exercise for the hospitals concerned.
I regard MFTP as a key building block in the move to Universal Health Insurance and I am committed to supporting MFTP fully as it develops.
