Joan Collins
Ceist:388. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health the cost of reintroducing the medical card for persons over 70 years of age to pre-2013 levels. [11590/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 24 May 2016
Ceisteanna (388)
Freagraí scríofa
Since mid-2015, universal GP care has extended to all persons over 70 years of age. At the start of this year, approximately 413,000 persons over 70 years of age qualified for the universal GP service. Approximately 333,000 of these persons also qualified for prescribed drugs under the GMS Scheme through their medical card. It is estimated the annual expenditure on GP services and prescribed drugs under the GMS Scheme for persons over 70 years of age is in the region of €500 million.
In the absence of information on the individual income of all persons over 70 years of age, it is not possible to calculate the cost of re-introducing the pre-2013 income thresholds for persons in this age cohort.