|
IMO has medical card case - FG recommends £300m to comprehensively extend cover
Fine Gael’s deputy Spokesperson on Finance, Deputy Paul McGrath, said that the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has a case in relation to medical card entitlement and that Fine Gael recommends spending £300m in a full year to comprehensively extend medical card and primary care cover.
"At present only the poorest of the poor qualify for a medical card with only 31% of the population covered, despite an agreement between the Department of Health and the IMO to allow cover for up to 40% of the population.
"Fine Gael proposes doubling the medical income entitlement limits as follows:
- Single person under 66 years old: £10,700 (was £4,870)
- Married couple under 66 years old: £16,820 (was £7,044)
- Married couple with two children: £19,720 (was £8,760)
"This would increase the numbers covered from 1.15 million to 1.6 million, entitling an additional 450,000 people to the medical card. This could be done immediately under the existing agreement with the IMO.
"Furthermore, Fine Gael proposes extending free GP services for:
- Children up to the age of 18, and beyond that while in full time education
- All senior citizens over the age of 65
- Those on the lower 60% of incomes
- Special provision for asthma sufferers and those with similar chronic disabilities
"This package of reforms would cost about £300m in a full year and would require negotiation with the IMO as it falls outside the current agreement. The concerns expressed at the IMO conference over the weekend are real. The Government has presided over chaos in the Hospital (secondary) care system and will create chaos and even greater inequality in the GP (primary) care system if they do not abandon ad hoc populist proposals for quick fix political gain.
"According to ESRI research, higher professionals (aged 55 to 64) have a death rate of 13 per 1000, semi-skilled 22 per 1000, and for unskilled manual workers the rate is 32 per 1000, almost three times higher than the professional persons of the same age group. It is time we created a primary and secondary health care system targeted at eliminating these inequalities. While Fine Gael has set out how this can be achieved the Government have not shown any concern to do so."
Return to Media Centre
|
