Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney. The determination of eligibility of applicants to medical cards is a matter for the Health Service Executive as provided for under the provisions of the Health Act, 1970. Medical cards are provided to persons who, in the opinion of the HSE, are unable without undue hardship to arrange general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants. Prior to January 2009, local health offices provided the public with advice and assistance in regard to applying for medical cards and processed medical card applications in more than 100 offices around the country.

As part of the HSE's ongoing programme to provide a more responsive and cost effective service, the HSE is centralising the processing aspect of medical card applications to its facility at the primary care reimbursement service in Dublin, as Deputy Costello noted. Under the centralisation plan, the HSE's local offices will continue to provide the public with assistance and information locally in regard to medical card eligibility and making an application, and the current status of their application or review.

From the customer's perspective, this means that at all times he or she will be able to seek advice from his or her local health office. Local health offices have access to the national system to help clients with inquiries about their application or review and can also deal with queries of a general nature regarding the medical card scheme.

On 11 June, the HSE launched a new website - www.medicalcard.ie - where individuals can make a medical card application online, track the status of their application or review and access a simple eligibility checker to check the current eligibility status of a medical card. There is also a new on-line feedback and enquiry facility for the public to communicate directly with the PCRS. Since the processing of medical cards for persons aged 70 and over was centralised in January 2009, the HSE has processed 2,801 renewal applications from clients aged 70 or over in Dublin North Central, the local health office area which covers the constituency area of Dublin Central, of which 2,673, or 95%, resulted in a new medical card being issued. A total of 106 or 3.8% of applications were submitted without the necessary supporting documentation and the HSE is working with those applicants so that their applications may be completed. A very small proportion - less than 0.32% - of applicants were unsuccessful following review.

In regard to persons aged 70 years and over, the HSE recently introduced a new simplified declaration process for reviewing those cards so that the vast majority of persons aged 70 years and over do not have to undergo the more onerous review application form. The new declaration comprises a single page form that can be completed with a single entry, signed and dated, in the event that the circumstances of the medical card holder and his or her dependants have not materially changed since their last review. In respect of clients under 70 years of age in Dublin North Central, the HSE has processed 8,341 reviews, of which 6,946, or 83%, resulted in a new medical card being issued. Some 1,125 or 13.5% of applicants are in communication with the HSE as their applications were submitted without all of the necessary documentation. In this case, less than 2.5%,205 applications, were unsuccessful following assessment in line with the national medical card -general practitioner visit card guidelines.

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