Families will wait months for medical cards - Tánaiste
Up to 200,000 low-income families won’t get the Government’s new doctor-only medical cards until early March, it was revealed today.
However, Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney confirmed during question time in the Dáil this morning that new health charges – also announced in last month’s Estimates – would still apply from January 1.
Tabling the question, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte called on the Tánaiste to postpone the implementation of the new charges – on areas like A&E visits and drug refund threshold levels – until the "yellow-pack" medical cards were in operation.
He pointed out that the drugs refund threshold level has “spiralled” by 123% and the A&E charges had risen by 261% since 1997.
Ms Harney said the new cards required the signing of a statutory instrument “and I intend to do that immediately”.
She added: “It will probably be the end of February or start of March before people get the doctor-only cards, or begin to get the doctor-only cards.”
She pointed out that in Northern Ireland and the UK, people had to pay about €10 for every prescription.
Mr Rabbitte added that there had been a “rapid escalation” in the cost of A&E visits, the drugs refund threshold and VHI premiums in the lifetime of the Government.
People on very low income who don’t qualify for the free visit to the doctor until March will also be charged increases on the drug refund threshold and on visits to the A&E.
Ms Harney accepted that the charges had increased but insisted that taxpayers’ investment in healthcare had also risen during that period.
She added: “Healthcare is expensive and we have to make choices.”
