Jimmy Deenihan
Ceist:381 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health the number of medical card holders in County Kerry for the years (a) 1987, (b) 1988 and (c) 1989.
Written Answers. - County Kerry Medical Card Holders.
I have been supplied with the following statistics by the Southern Health Board. The statistics refer to the number of medical card holders in County Kerry from 1986 to 1989.
|
Year |
Number of Medical Cards issued |
Number covered by Medical Card |
|
1987 |
29,555 |
51,866 |
|
1988 |
27,984 |
48,895 |
|
1989(as of 31/11/89) |
27,474 |
47,623 |
The drop in the numbers covered by medical cards in this area between 1987 and 1988 is largely due to the removal of invalid cards (for example, those that are no longer eligible or have left the area or have died) from the records of the Southern Health Board in preparation for the implementation of the new GMS contract.