Finian McGrath
Ceist:336 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if his Department overpaid doctors in the region of ?18 million for treating up to 20,000 dead or ineligible patients. [22197/02]
Vol. 557 No. 4
336 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if his Department overpaid doctors in the region of ?18 million for treating up to 20,000 dead or ineligible patients. [22197/02]
The Government decision to extend automatic medical card eligibility to all persons aged 70 years and over with effect from 1 July 2001 was announced on budget day in December 2000. Original estimates of the numbers, 39,000 persons, likely to benefit from this initiative were based on the Central Statistics Office estimate of persons in this age category less the number of those already registered as medical card holders.
337 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will, as part of the GMS contract with doctors, ensure that the relevant health board or authority is notified by the doctor when a patient dies; when the contract will be negotiated again; if it is negotiated every year; and if this clause can be made part of the contract. [22287/02]
The current GMS contact dates from 1989. Clause 11 of the contract states, "The medical practitioner shall co-operate, where possible, in advising the health board of known alterations to his list of patients". Amendments to the contract since then reflect the agreed outcome of industrial relations negotiations between the Department and the Irish Medical Organisation, the licensed negotiating body for general practitioners. The contract is not negotiated annually and no clause may be inserted into it unless it arises in the context of an agreement between the two parties.