Vol. 513 No. 1
386 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding the new drugs payment scheme in relation to some foods which are no longer available under the drugs cost subsidisation scheme to control long-term illnesses such as coeliacs who have to adhere to a strict gluten free diet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1146/00]
390 Mr. P. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will amend the drugs cost subsidisation scheme to accommodate the dietary needs of coeliac sufferers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1150/00]
428 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the fact that certain foods which were refundable to coeliacs under the drugs cost subsidisation scheme are not refundable under the new £42 scheme; and the steps, if any, he will take to remedy this problem in view of the positive contribution of these foods to the maintenance of the good health of those concerned. [1212/00]
454 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Health and Children the special provisions, if any, he will make for coeliacs in view of the fact that their situation has disimproved since the introduction of the new drugs cost subsidisation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1509/00]
463 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the considerable financial and medical difficulties caused for coeliacs by changes in the drugs cost subsidisation scheme; and the proposals, if any, he has to ensure that all coeliacs have access to a gluten free diet at a reasonable cost. [1658/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 386, 390, 428, 454 and 463 together.
The new drug payment scheme, with a threshold of £42 per month per individual or family, was introduced on 1 July 1999 and replaced the drug cost subsidisation scheme – DCSS – and drug refund scheme – DRS. The primary aim of the new drug payment scheme is to bring about important improvements over the previous schemes and the scheme is designed to be more streamlined, user friendly and to significantly improve the cash flow situation for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines. With regard to the increase, I would point out that there has been no increase in the thresholds for the DCSS or DRS since 1991.
A common list of reimbursable items was introduced for the general medical services scheme and the drug payment scheme to ensure equity in relation to the products reimbursed by the State under both schemes. The list of reimbursable food items to which persons registered under the drug payment scheme are entitled is therefore in line with those items available to medical card holders and includes breads, bread mixes, flours and pizza bases. It is considered that the range of such items available under State reimbursement schemes provides a reasonable choice and persons requiring items which are not reimbursable would be expected to meet the full cost of such items. There are no plans to include other coeliac foods in the common list.
