Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2017
1099. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Health his plans to simplify the application for general practitioner cards for persons with long-term illnesses by awarding automatically medical cards for certain conditions. [26863/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The Deputy may be aware of the key recommendation of the "Keane" Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility that a person’s means should remain the main qualifier for a medical card. It also recommended that it is neither feasible nor desirable to list conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility. Therefore, medical card provision is solely based on financial assessment. Under the legislation, having a particular illness, in itself, does not establish eligibility for a medical card and therefore, the medical conditions of applicants for this scheme are not monitored on that basis. Where the applicant's income is within the income guidelines, a medical card or GP visit card will be awarded.
However, every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for a medical card and where appropriate exercise discretion. In particular, the HSE may, in exercising its discretion, take full account of the difficult circumstances, financial, social and medical, in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines and even though an applicant exceeds the income threshold grant a medical card on a discretionary basis.
In addition, the HSE has a system in place for the provision of medical cards in response to an emergency situation for persons with a serious medical condition in need of urgent or on-going medical care that they cannot afford and persons in palliative care, who are terminally ill. With the exception of terminally ill patients, all medical cards, granted on an emergency basis, are issued on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the basis of means or undue hardship, and will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the medical card eligibility. These cards are issued within 24 hours of receipt of the required patient details and a letter which confirms the medical condition from a doctor or consultant.
