Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 November 2014
789. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if general practitioners are allowed to charge medical card patients for medical letters they require; if there is a difference depending on the reason for the letter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42082/14]
View answerThe contract between the Health Service Executive (HSE) and general practitioners under the General Medical Services (GMS) Scheme stipulates that fees are not paid to General Practitioners (GPs) by the HSE in respect of certain medical certificates which may be required, for example, "under the Social Welfare Acts or for the purposes of insurance or assurance policies or for the issue of driving licences".
Consultation fees charged by general practitioners to private patients and to GMS patients outside the terms of the GMS contract are a matter of private contract between the clinicians and the patients. While I have no role in relation to such fees, I would expect clinicians to have regard to the overall economic situation in setting their fees.
