Written Answers Nos. 149-157
149. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Health if a child (details supplied) who is on a two-year waiting list to see a professor of genetics in Crumlin hospital in Dublin 12 will be funded, through cross-Border funding, to see a geneticist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13626/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive operates the EU Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross Border Healthcare in Ireland under Statutory Instrument 203 of 2014. The Directive provides rules for the reimbursement to patients’ of the cost of receiving treatment abroad, where the patient would be entitled to such treatment in their home Member State (Member State of Affiliation) and supplements the rights that patients already have at EU level through the legislation on the coordination of social security schemes (EU Regulation 883/04). The Directive seeks to ensure a clear and transparent framework for the provision of cross-border healthcare within the EU, for those occasions where the care patients seek is provided in another Member State rather than in their home country.
The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
150. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) in County Dublin is waiting two years for left knee surgery in Beaumont Hospital in Dublin 9; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13637/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular patient query raised by you, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
151. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health if he will recognise fibromyalgia as a long-term illness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13643/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, which are as follows: Acute Leukaemia; Mental handicap; Cerebral Palsy; Mental Illness (in a person under 16); Cystic Fibrosis; Multiple Sclerosis; Diabetes Insipidus; Muscular Dystrophies; Diabetes Mellitus; Parkinsonism; Epilepsy; Phenylketonuria; Haemophilia; Spina Bifida; Hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme.
Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines.
Under the provisions of the Health Acts, medical cards are provided to persons who are, in the opinion of the HSE, unable without undue hardship to arrange GP services for themselves and their dependants. In the assessment process, the HSE can take into account medical costs incurred by an individual or a family.
152. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Health if he will facilitate the automatic renewal of medical cards for persons with fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13644/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), the assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. There is no entitlement to a medical card for a person with a particular illness or medical condition. The Deputy will be aware of the publication of the Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility and the Medical Card Process Review in November 2014. Key findings of the Expert Panel were that it would not be feasible, desirable or ethically justifiable to list medical conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility and that a person’s means should remain the main qualifier for a medical card.
However, the Government recognises that the health service needs to be responsive to the circumstances of people with significant medical needs. Following publication of the two reports, in November 2014, the Minister for Health and I announced a series of measures to enhance the operation of the medical card scheme and make it more sensitive to people’s needs, especially where serious illness is involved. Where deemed appropriate in particular circumstances, the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card even though an applicant's means exceed the prescribed threshold. Where a person does not qualify for a medical card, they may be provided with a GP Visit Card, appropriate therapy or other community supports or drugs.
Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines.
153. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive an appointment in South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13658/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular patient query raised by you, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
154. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he has further extended the date by which the board of the Voluntary Health Insurance must acquire the necessary capital reserves to make an application for authorisation by the Central Bank of Ireland. [13659/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 30 March 2015, I signed an order to extend the date that VHI must acquire the necessary fund for reserves to make an application for authorisation by the Central Bank of Ireland. The specified date is 30 June 2015. The order was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 1 April 2015.
I hope this clarified the matter for the Deputy.
155. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a hospital appointment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13661/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver health services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister from directing the HSE to provide treatment or a personal service to any individual.
The scheduling of appointments for patients is a matter for the hospital to which the patient has been referred. Should a patient's general practitioner consider that the patient's condition warrants an earlier appointment, he or she should take the matter up with the consultant and the hospital involved. In relation to the specific case raised, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
156. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Health the position regarding a hospital appointment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13662/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver health services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister from directing the HSE to provide treatment or a personal service to any individual.
In relation to the particular patient query raised by you, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
157. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health if he will provide, in tabular form, for 1 March 2014 and 1 March 2015, for each local health area, the number of medical cards in circulation generally, and also for those over 70 years of age; and for each of these the number of which were issued on a discretionary basis. [13664/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive has been asked to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.The Health Service Executive operates the General Medical Services scheme, which includes medical cards and GP visit cards, under the Health Act 1970, as amended. It has established a dedicated contact service for members of the Oireachtas specifically for queries relating to medical cards and GP visit cards, which the Deputy may wish to use for an earlier response. Contact information has issued to Oireachtas members. If the Deputy has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days, please contact my Private Office who will follow up the matter with them.
