asked the Minister for Social Welfare the amount of Estimate moneys allocated in 1987 and 1988 for the extension of the treatment benefit scheme; the number first estimated in 1987 and 1988 eligible for this scheme; those first estimated for dental and optical benefit; the number of dentists and opticians eligible to participate in 1987 and 1988; the number of persons who availed of the scheme in 1987 and in the first quarter of 1988; the number of participating dentists and opticians at present; and the amount of Estimates provisions expended in 1987 and in the first quarter of 1988.
Written Answers. - Treatment Benefit Scheme.
94.
The provisions for the extension of the treatment benefit scheme to the dependent spouses of insured persons, included in the published Estimates for 1987 and 1988, respectively, were £1,500,000 and £6,275,000. It was estimated that some 330,000 dependent spouses would become covered for treatment. It was estimated at the time the estimates were prepared that in a full year up to one third of those eligible might claim.
There are approximately 630 dentists active on the social insurance dental panel, some of whom treat only a small number of persons under the scheme. Up to the present 151 dentists have provided treatment to dependent spouses under the extended scheme. There are approximately 530 members on the optical panel all of whom operate the extended scheme.
The approximate number of claims received from dependent spouses under the extended scheme in 1987 and the first quarter of 1988 is 30,000. Expenditure in 1987 was £20,250, and in the first quarter of 1988 it was £463,316.
This expenditure does not represent the full claimload within those periods. This is because many of the claims are submitted for approval in advance and the treatment may take several weeks to be completed. Payments are then made to the dentists and opticians on a monthly cycle, after completion of the treatment.