asked the Minister for Health if he will state the amounts recovered by health authorities in 1956-57 and 1957-58 in respect of hospital charges in the case of (a) insured persons and their dependents, (b) farmers with farms under £50 valuation and their dependents, and (c) others.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hospital Charges.
As was indicated in a reply to a question by the Deputy on 12th March last, many persons who receive health services as members of one eligible class could also be correctly regarded as members of another eligible class. Many agricultural landholders are, for instance, also insured persons, and the majority of insured persons could also correctly claim services as persons whose means are less than £600 a year.
For these reasons no reliable apportionment can be made between the different eligible classes of the income from charges in respect of services provided under Section 15 of the Health Act, 1953. The total amount of the present annual income from patients receiving institutional services under that section of the Act is estimated at £200,000.