Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 125: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children to explain the charge for medical card holders for a SIDCA bone scan at a public hospital; the reason a medical card holder is required to pay a charge for a necessary medical service such as this; if medical card holders will not be required to pay this and similar charges; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21377/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Medical card holders are entitled to a full range of services, including general practitioner services, prescribed drugs and medicines, all inpatient services in public wards including consultant services, dental, ophthalmic and aural and appliances and a maternity and infant care service.

The Health (Amendment) Act 1991 gave statutory effect to the measures which determined that everyone in this country, regardless of income, is entitled to public hospital and consultation services subject only to modest statutory charges from which medical card holders are exempt. The Act also removed the entitlement to combine public and private elements of inpatient care at the same time. Any person can opt to be the private patient of both the consultant and the hospital. In these circumstances the patient, whether a medical card holder or not, is liable for the costs relating to such treatment. An inpatient of a public hospital who holds a medical card should not be charged for a bone scan unless the person has explicitly opted to be treated as a private patient or is due compensation as a result of a road traffic accident under the Health (Amendment) Act 1986 Act.

The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to reply directly to the Deputy.