Written Answers Nos. 486-498
486. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the amount raised from the levy on private medical insurance policies in each of the past four years; the rates of payment for different categories of insured person that are made under the scheme; and the amounts paid to each of the medical insurers. [29734/15]
View answerThe interim scheme of Age-Related Tax Credits and Community Rating Levy (ARTC) was in operation from 2009 to 2012. The total stamp duty levied on health insurance products was €347m in 2011 and €437m in 2012. The interim scheme was replaced by a permanent risk equalisation scheme from 1 January 2013. The total stamp duty levies on health insurance products was €413m in 2013 and €582m in 2014.
The amounts paid to individual insurers is commercially sensitive information.
The current stamp duties and credits payable under the risk equalisation scheme are set out in the following table. In addition a hospital bed utilisation credit of €90 is paid for each overnight stay in a hospital. The risk equalisation scheme is self-funded, ie the cost of credits is met by the stamp duties raised.
Renewals from 1 March 2015 are set out in the following table:
|
Credits |
Male Non-Advanced Contract |
Female Non-Advanced Contract |
Male Advanced Contract |
Female Advanced Contract |
|
60-64 |
€200 |
€150 |
€425 |
€300 |
|
65-69 |
€525 |
€350 |
€1,075 |
€725 |
|
70-74 |
€825 |
€600 |
€1,750 |
€1,200 |
|
75-79 |
€1,025 |
€800 |
€2,250 |
€1,700 |
|
80-84 |
€1,475 |
€1,025 |
€2,975 |
€2,125 |
|
85+ |
€1,750 |
€1,125 |
€3,725 |
€2,475 |
|
Stamp Duties |
||||
|
Adult |
€240 |
€240 |
€399 |
€399 |
|
Child |
€80 |
€80 |
€135 |
€135 |
487. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount raised from prescription charges in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29758/15]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the primary care schemes, therefore the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to you.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
488. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount raised from the emergency department charges in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29759/15]
View answer489. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount raised from public hospital inpatient charges in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29760/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 488 and 489 together.
I have referred your questions to the Health Service Executive for consideration and direct reply.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office who will follow up on the matter.
490. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the annual cost of the drug payment scheme; the annual number of beneficiaries of the scheme; the number of individual monthly claims, in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29761/15]
View answerUnder the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for the administration of the primary care schemes, therefore the matter has been referred to the HSE for attention and direct reply to you.
If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
491. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount raised by the State from charges on the estates of persons who received nursing home care under the nursing home support scheme in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29762/15]
View answerAs this is a service matter it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
492. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a full list of the charges or co-payments which may apply to persons using the health service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29763/15]
View answerThe hospital charges that currently apply are as follows.
The Health (Out-Patient Charges) Regulations 2013 provides for a €100 charge for out-patient services provided at an emergency department, an accident and emergency department, a casualty department, a minor injury unit, an urgent care centre, a local injury unit or any other facility providing similar services, subject to certain exemptions. In addition, under the Health Services (Out-Patient) Regulations 1993, the HSE may levy a charge on private patients for the use of an MRI machine in a public hospital.
Under the Health (In-Patient Charges) Regulations 1987 (as amended) public in-patients in public hospitals are liable to a €75 per day charge subject to a maximum of €750 in any 12 consecutive months, subject to certain exemptions. Under the Health (Amendment) Act 2013 private in-patients in public hospitals are subject to charges that range from €329 to €1,000 per day. The charge levied depends on whether accommodation is provided in a single or multiple occupancy room and if overnight accommodation is provided.
As required by the Health (Amendment) Act 1986, where a hospital is informed that the patient, their personal representative or a dependent is pursuing a Road Traffic Accident (RTA) claim, billing data is generated on the local billing system. Invoices can be raised for an RTA related in-patient or out-patient charge depending on the services provided at the hospital.
The Health (Charges for In-Patient Services) Regulations 2005-2011 provide that, subject to certain exemptions, charges apply to the maintenance element of "long-stay" in-patient services (excluding acute in-patient services or services supported under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme) provided in hospitals or other specified settings by or on behalf of the HSE for over 30 days within a rolling 12 month period. Charges apply to those with full or limited eligibility and may not exceed 80% of the weekly non-contributory State pension. The Regulations provide for sliding scales of charges based on income, with the current maximum being €175 per week where 24-hour nursing care is provided or €130 per week where 24-hour nursing care is not provided. The charges may be waived or reduced where necessary to avoid financial hardship, having regard to each individual's financial circumstances (including whether he or she has dependants).
493. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the total spend by his Department on agency staff in each year from 2011 to 2014; the projected spend this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29768/15]
View answerThe majority of my Department's staff are established civil servants. There are a small number of employees on fixed-term contracts or seconded from the HSE or other health related State agencies. My Department does not engage agency staff and therefore, there was no expenditure on agency staff in the years from 2011 to 2014 and there is no budget projected for 2015.
494. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Health the number of speech and language therapists employed by the Health Service Executive; the overall cost of speech and language therapy services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29777/15]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly on the matter. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
495. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the services being put in place for a child (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29826/15]
View answerAs the particular issue raised by the Deputy relates to an individual case, this is a service matter for the Health Service Executive. Accordingly, I have arranged for the question to be referred to the HSE for direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
496. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Health if he will indicate where gaps exist in the speech and language, child psychology and occupational services nationally, by county or Health Service Executive area, including child and adolescent mental health services; if his Department has funding to fill these gaps; if so, the recruitment initiatives that have been, or are being, undertaken to fill these gaps; the waiting list numbers that exist for the corresponding shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29839/15]
View answerIn line with Programme for Government commitments, our priority has been to modernise mental health services, and to resource implementation of the widely agreed policy A Vision for Change.
In this context, this Government has provided, since 2012, additional ring-fenced funding of €125 million thus resulting in around 1,150 posts of the type required to re-balance services towards greater community based provision. The funding is focused, for example, to strengthening Community Mental Health Teams for both adults and children; to enhancing specialist community mental health services for older people with a mental illness; and catering for those with an intellectual disability and mental illness. It is also developing forensic mental health services; promoting access to counselling and psychotherapy in Primary Care; and enhancing suicide prevention measures.
As the Deputy's question relates to detailed service issues, the question has been referred to the HSE for direct reply. If the Deputy has not received a reply within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.
497. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 65 of 9 July 2015, if he will provide the information sought for June 2015, not April 2015 as provided in the reply; and if it is not the case that the information is available to him, given that his Department has provided information to the Department of Finance for the purposes of the June Exchequer returns, and that furthermore in Parliamentary Question No. 69 of 30 September 2014, he provided Dáil Éireann with an update as to the Health Service Executive's net current deficit against profile at the end of September 2014. [29842/15]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Vote of the Health Service Executive was disestablished with effect from 31 December, 2014. All funding for the Executive is now provided through the Vote of the Minister for Health – Vote 38. Vote returns at end June are of course available, but this only provides information on the cash grants provided to the HSE and does not provide detail on the drivers of expenditure; this information is available through the Performance Report, for which the April position is the latest available, as provided in Parliamentary Question Number 65 of 9 July.
In Vote terms, Vote 38 is €32m over profile at the end of June, with the HSE related subheads approximately €45m over profile and the Department of Health related subheads approximately €13m under profile.
498. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Health if officials in client registration medical cards are adhering to European Union Regulation 1408/17 when assessing individual applications for full medical cards; if he will confirm that pensioners in receipt of a social security pension from the United Kingdom are entitled to a non-means tested medical card; that such pensioners' entitlement should not be adjudicated in association with a spouse but in their own right; if he will confirm that occupational pensions are not taken into account in determining such pensioners' entitlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29848/15]
View answerRegulation (EC) 883/04 and Implementing Regulation 987/09 provide for the coordination of social security systems, including healthcare, within the EU/EEA and Switzerland, with the aim of ensuring the free movement of persons. This objective of the Regulation is to ensure that persons exercising their right to move and to stay freely within the EU/EEA and Switzerland do not suffer disadvantage.
Medical Cards may be issued to EU\EEA citizens under EU Regulation 883/04 if the person is in receipt of a contributory social insurance payment from one, or more, of the Member States, provided they are not receiving a contributory social insurance payment from the Irish State. These Medical Cards are issued on an individual basis and the income of a spouse\partner is not relevant. EU\EEA citizens who are in receipt of a qualifying payment from another member State should make an application for a Medical Card directly to the HSE. Such applicants are not means tested. The application should be accompanied, as evidence that they are receiving a qualifying payment, by the relevant EU "S" form issued by the Member State making their payment. The position regarding the UK is that, under a reciprocal agreement, the EU "S" form is not required, however, proof of receipt of a qualifying payment from the UK authorities should be provided with the application to the HSE.
