asked the Minister for Health if he will state in detail the methods of calculation used at present to determine the eligibility of a farmer for a medical card; and the changes, if any, that have taken place in such methods in the last year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Medical Card Eligibility.
5.
Mr. Kitt
Entitlement to a medical card depends on whether a person is able, without undue hardship, to arrange general practitioner medical and surgical services for himself and his dependants.
A decision on any individual case rests with the chief executive officer of the relevant health board and, in arriving at this decision, account is taken of all known factors relevant to the applicant's financial situation. To ensure uniformity of assessment, chief executive officers have adopted income guidelines which are uniform throughout the country and which are reviewed from time to time.
In the case of persons, such as farmers, whose income does not arise from a regular wage or salary, an estimate is made of the income arising over a period and due allowance is made for expenses necessary to the maintenance of the farm or business. There are no standard methods of calculation for doing this. I am not aware of any change in this situation over the past year.
Mr. Kitt
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that a considerable number of small farmers in the west have had their medical cards cancelled recently? I would also like to ask him if there are any proposals to revise the guidelines at the moment.
In reply to the first part of the Deputy's question, I am not aware of any change in regard to assessment in the issue of medical cards and, with regard to the second part of the question, the guidelines were reviewed in January of this year and I presume they will be reviewed later this year as well.
Would the Parliamentary Secretary say if the health boards or the CEOs could inform small farmers when their applications are refused exactly what their incomes were, as determined by the health boards, or could the boards say if the incomes were considered to be £1, £2 or £3 per week or £100 or £150 per annum over and above the income limit?
The Deputy is asking for some uniformity in the assessment of farmers' incomes. That is not an easy thing but superintendents and assistance officers throughout the country have been holding meetings recently to try to achieve some greater uniformity.