Alan Shatter
Ceist:156 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the consideration, if any, given to the provision of a graduated eligibility test for medical cards. [5373/00]
Vol. 515 No. 1
156 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children the consideration, if any, given to the provision of a graduated eligibility test for medical cards. [5373/00]
Entitlement to health services in Ireland has been primarily based on means rather than payment of income tax or PRSI. Since 1991 any person, regardless of nationality, who is accepted by the health boards as being ordinarily resident in Ireland is entitled to either full eligibility – category 1, that is medical card holders or limited eligibility – category 2 – for health services. Health boards normally regard a person as ordinarily resident in Ireland if he-she satisfies the health board that it is his-her intention to remain here for a minimum period of one year.
The number of eligibility categories for entitlement to health services was reduced from three to two as a result of the Health (Amendment) Act, 1991. This followed the detailed analysis of the eligibility system by the 1989 Commission on Health Funding and their recommendation of measures to simplify the system and make it more equitable. In particular, the commission found that there were major problems and inequities inherent in allocating non-medical card holders to more than one eligibility category on income grounds. These problems were removed when the new eligibility system came into effect. A graduated system of entitlement for medical cards would presumably have to be based on income and would thus reintroduce these problems.
Under current eligibility criteria persons in category 1 are medical card holders and are entitled to a full range of services including general practitioner services, prescribed drugs and medicines, all in-patient public hospital services in public wards including consultants services, all out-patient public hospital services including consultants services, dental, ophthalmic and aural services and appliances and a maternity and infant care service.