Seán Haughey
Ceist:168 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will designate arthritis and heart disease as long-term illnesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14511/99]
Written Answers. - Long Term Illnesses.
The Health Act, 1970, provides at section 59(3) that a health board may make arrangements for the supply, without charge, of drugs, medicines or medical and surgical appliances to persons suffering from a prescribed disease or disability of a permanent or long-term nature. These arrangements are known as the long-term illness scheme. There are 15 specified illnesses covered under the long-term illness scheme and the scheme has not been extended since 1975 having regard to the fact the needs of individuals with significant or ongoing medical expenses are met by a range of other schemes which provide assistance towards the cost of prescribed drugs and medicines.
Persons suffering from an on-going medical condition can avail of the drug cost subsidisation scheme which caters for people who do not have a medical card or a long-term illness book and are certified as having a medical condition with a regular and on-going requirement for prescribed drugs and medicines. Persons who qualify for inclusion in this scheme do not have to spend more than £32 in any month on prescribed medication.
Under the drug refund scheme, families and individuals pay the full cost of their prescription medicines and may, at the end of the quarter, claim reimbursement from their health board of expenditure over £90 in that calendar quarter. The new drug payment scheme will replace the drug cost subsidisation scheme and the drug refund scheme, with effect from 1 July 1999, with a monthly threshold of £42.
The new drug payment scheme will effectively merge the best elements of the two existing schemes and is designed to significantly improve the cash flow situation for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines.
The fact that the drug payment scheme will operate on a monthly basis has distinct advantages over the current drug refund scheme. Under the drug refund scheme, a family or an individual could, for example, in one month have expenditure of say £80 but no expenditure in the other two months. They would not have been entitled to a refund. Under the new scheme, they will only have to pay £42 in that month.
There are no qualifying criteria for inclusion in the new drug payment scheme. This is in contrast to the old drug cost subsidisation scheme where patients had to be certified by their doctor as suffering from a condition requiring ongoing expenditure on medicines in excess of £32 per month.
I am satisfied the new scheme will be easier to use than the drug refund scheme and will be more inclusive than the drug cost subsidisation scheme, bringing overall benefits to a greater number of people.