Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
1409. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Health the reason that gross income as opposed to net income is considered when assessing medical cards for those who are over 70 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19453/22]
View answerMedical Card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE. The HSE assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn a week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.
Persons aged 69 and under are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after tax; PRSI and the Universal Social Charge (USC) have been deducted. Certain expenses are also taken into account, i.e. mortgage payments, which helps to increase the amount a person can earn and still qualify for a medical card.
Regarding persons aged 70 or older, the medical card assessment is based on gross income. This assessment process was introduced for this cohort only, by way of the Health Act 2008, as a means to replace the automatic entitlement to a medical card for people aged 70 years and over. The new gross income arrangements were therefore introduced on that basis and provided for the vast majority of people aged 70 years and over to continue to hold medical cards under the new income thresholds. The weekly gross income thresholds for eligibility to a medical card for those aged 70 and over were increased in November 2020 and are currently €550 per week for a single person and €1050 for a couple.
It should also be noted that persons aged 70 or older may also have their eligibility assessed under the general means tested medical card scheme in the event that they face particularly high expenses, e.g. nursing home or medication costs.
