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EU Directives

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 April 2014

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Questions (739)

Joe McHugh

Question:

739. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the transposing of the EU patient mobility directive into Irish law, the implications for the Irish health consumer; the consequences for Irish hospitals, changes in interrelationships on both a North-South and European basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18699/14]

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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 health care 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 health care 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. Nevertheless, there are 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 principal function of the NCP is to facilitate exchange of information for patients concerning their rights and entitlements relating to receiving health care 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. The NCP will be able to inform patients what the cost of their treatments would be in Ireland to allow them make a comparison with the costs they are being quoted for comparable treatment in another Member State. While it has been possible to have these aspects of the NCP up and running by the 25th October 2013 on an administrative basis, it was not possible to have prior authorisation or reimbursement operating on a statutory basis. Further information on the Ireland's implementation of the Directive is available on the NCP's webpage: http://hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/cbd/CBD.html.

The Directive permits EU patients to seek treatment in hospitals in Ireland subject to its provisions however no significant additional activity has been experienced. The Directive also provides that a Member State may limit the health care provided to patients resident in another Member State where it is justified by overriding reasons of general interest, such as planning requirements related to the aim of ensuring sufficient and permanent access to a balanced range of high quality treatment in the State, or the wish to control costs or to avoid, as far as possible, any waste of financial, technical and human resources.

No changes in inter relationships on both a North South and European basis are envisaged as this Directive does not give patients any rights to cross border health care that they don’t have already. It doesn’t introduce any new rights. These rights have already been established by the European Court of Justice. What the Directive aims to do is to establish a framework within which cross border health care will operate and to set the rules regarding how patients will access care and what kind of treatment they are entitled to outside of their own country.

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