Written Answers Nos. 224-233
224. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health the progress to date in the determination of an application for a medical card in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43013/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
225. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Health when an urgent medical card will issue in the case of persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43036/18]
View answerAs this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
226. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health if a decision has been made by the national cancer control programme to allocate funding for a pigmented lesion clinic outreach service in a hospital (details supplied) in the South/South West hospital group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43052/18]
View answerA pigmented lesion clinic is available to people in the South/South West Hospital Group at the South Infirmary Hospital in Cork. Funding for 2019 has been sought for a range of services linked to the implementation of the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026. Decisions on allocations for new developments will be made based on the final allocations from the Government Budget.
231. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting three years for a hip replacement. [43062/18]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, a standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, since January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
232. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if the €25 reduction in income limits for general practitioner visit cards announced in budget 2019 will apply across all relevant age brackets and categories, for example, single person living alone, single person living with family and so on; when the changes to the income limits will take effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43063/18]
View answerBudget 2019 provided for a 10% increase in the assessment threshold for all relevant age brackets and cohorts in respect of means-tested GP visit cards. It is intended that this change will come into effect from 31st March 2019.
233. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if work was carried out by his Department or the HSE to assess the impact that recently announced welfare rate increases would have on the ability of persons to obtain and retain medical cards due to the small increase in income; his views on whether some persons will lose their medical cards or no longer qualify as a result of these increases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43064/18]
View answerBudget 2019 provided for increases in a number of social welfare payments which are intended to come into effect in March 2019. It would be the Government's intention that people's ability to qualify for a medical card would not be adversely affected by this increase. I have asked the HSE to monitor the situation and to advise me if it considers that changes in the rates of social welfare payments may affect people's ability to qualify for a medical card.
Although increases in income may have an impact on a person's eligibility for a medical card it should be noted that the medical card assessment process does take into account certain allowable expenses such as mortgage costs, travel-to-work costs and childcare costs, which may also vary over time. Furthermore, if a person's sole income is derived from a social welfare payment, even where this is more than the current means threshold, he/she will be awarded a medical card.
