Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 November 2013
475. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if Directive No. 2011/24/EU came into force on 25 October having been adopted in March 2011; if it has been signed into law; if he will confirm whether doctors who treat polio patients will now be able to explore medical treatment for polio survivors in the other 27 EU member states with the Irish health budget absorbing the cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48200/13]
View answerThe EU Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Healthcare provides rules for the reimbursement to patients’, including polio survivors, of the cost of receiving treatment abroad, where the patient would be entitled to such treatment in their home Member State (Member State of Affiliation) and supplements the rights that patients already have at EU level through the legislation on the coordination of social security schemes (regulation 883/04).
The Directive seeks to ensure a clear and transparent framework for the provision of cross-border healthcare within the EU, for those occasions where the care patients seek is provided in another Member State rather than in their home country. However, it should be emphasised that the vast majority of EU patients receive healthcare in their own country and prefer to do so.
The Department of Health is continuing to work on the necessary statutory arrangements to fully implement the Directive and draft legal provisions to put in place the statutory provisions for these arrangements are being prepared and will be implemented as soon as possible. Nevertheless, there are administrative arrangements in place in respect of the key provision of the Directive in relation to a national contact point (NCP), which has been set up within the HSE. The principle function of the NCP is to facilitate exchange of information for patients concerning their rights and entitlements relating to receiving healthcare in another Member State, in particular the terms and conditions for reimbursement of cost, the procedures for accessing and determining those entitlements. The NCP also has a responsibility to ensure that all enquirers are informed of the rights, if any, that they may have through the legislation on the coordination of social security schemes (regulation 883/04) and which may be more beneficial to them. Patients’ requiring information on Ireland's implementation of the Directive may access NCP information on the Cross Border Directive (CBD) through the HSE’s main website.
