Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. As the Senator is aware, a new medical card scheme for persons aged 70 years or over was introduced with effect from 1 January 2009. Under this scheme, a person who is ordinarily resident in the State qualifies for a medical card so long as his or her gross income does not exceed the means test income limit. The income limit for a single person is ¤700 per week. The relevant income limit for a couple is ¤1,400 per week.

Under the provisions of the Health Act 1970, as amended, determination of eligibility for a medical card is the responsibility of the HSE. The HSE has produced national assessment guidelines to provide a clear framework to assist the making of reasonable, consistent and equitable decisions when assessing an applicant. These guidelines are publicly available and can be downloaded from the HSE's medical card website.

The standard procedure for the review of medical cards for persons aged 66 years or older is that their medical card will be reviewed every four years. For persons under the age of 66 years, the period of validity of a medical card is three years.

In the interest of fairness between medical cardholders, it is important that all people aged 70 or over are treated in like manner by the HSE. The HSE recently carried out an examination of its national medical card database. It found that some medical cards have expiry periods of more than four years and, in some cases, ten years or more. On foot of this examination, the HSE has identified about 7,000 medical cardholders throughout the country who have not been reviewed for ten years or more. Consequently, the HSE has started to contact these individuals. The HSE has sent review forms to approximately 1,500 people so far. While this is part of a nationwide exercise, the HSE has indicated that the majority of the people to whom it has written thus far, live in the HSE's north-west region, which includes County Donegal. The HSE will write to the remaining individuals over the coming weeks. Those individuals who have not been reviewed for ten years are being asked to complete a full review. However, the medical cards that they currently hold will not expire before January 2013 in order to give sufficient time for the forms to be completed.

Any medical cardholder undergoing a review for a renewed medical card, who genuinely engages with the HSE in that review, will not have his or her entitlement withdrawn before the review is complete, regardless of the expiry date shown on the medical card. In cases where a decision is made not to grant a medical card, the applicant will be informed of the decision and notified of his or her right to appeal this decision. Contact details for the appeals office are provided to the applicant with that decision. Where a person submits an appeal to a decision not to renew a medical card within 21 days of that decision, he or she will retain the medical card until the appeal is decided. In conclusion, all efforts are being made to deal with the individuals properly, fairly and impartially.