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General Practitioner Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 October 2021

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Questions (579, 580, 649)

Holly Cairns

Question:

579. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health his views on the rejection of payments by the primary care reimbursement services for general practitioners under the maternity and infant care scheme relating to additional payments for hypertension, gestational diabetes and urinary tract infections. [49592/21]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

580. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will put in place an appeals system for general practitioners who are refused payments by the primary care reimbursement services under the maternity and infant care scheme. [49593/21]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

649. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Health if he will require the primary care reimbursement services to provide a rationale in each case for the rejection of maternity and infant care scheme payments to general practitioners. [49867/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 579, 580 and 649 together.

The Maternity and Infant Care Scheme provides an agreed programme of care, free of charge, to an expectant mother arising out of her pregnancy and to her new-born baby for six weeks after birth. All expectant mothers who are ordinarily resident in Ireland are eligible to avail of services under the scheme. Women who choose to avail of these services are under the care of both a general practitioner of their choice and a hospital obstetrician. Care can be obtained from any general practitioner who has a contract for the provision of services under the scheme.

The scheme provides for a number of scheduled visits for which GPs are reimbursed. Care in respect of illnesses which are co-incidental with but not related to pregnancy do not form part of the scheme. Where additional visits are required by patients suffering from major conditions e.g. diabetes, hypertension, a fee of €27.67 per visit, subject to a maximum of 5 visits, will be paid.

From 1st July 2019, the Maternity and Infant Care Scheme was centralised to the Primary Care Reimbursement Service for online claiming through the GP Application Suite. The new functionality enables GPs to register and submit claims online for expeditious processing. A manual process for claiming is also provided. Details on how to submit claims are outlined in the document entitled “HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service Information and Administrative Arrangements for General Practitioners – V1.0” which is available on the HSE website.

In relation to the specific issues raised, as these are service matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Question No. 580 answered with Question No. 579.
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