Pearse Doherty
Question:597. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Health when the EU cross-border healthcare directive will be fully implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16252/14]
View answerTuesday, 8 April 2014
Questions (597)
Written answers
The Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Healthcare provides rules for the reimbursement to patients’ 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 provisions to fully implement the Directive and will have them in place as soon as possible.