Written answers

Wednesday, 27 September 2006

Department of Health and Children

Nursing Home Charges

8:00 pm

Photo of Finian McGrathFinian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 712: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the position in relation to the health repayment scheme and claims by living spouses and children and the issue of repayments to the repayment scheme fund. [29107/06]

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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I presume the Deputy is referring to the small number of instances whereby a contribution was paid on behalf of a fully eligible person for publicly funded long stay residential care by a close family member. Under the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006, a living spouse or living child of a relevant person who has paid, on behalf of the relevant person, the whole or part of the recoverable health charges paid in respect of an individual can apply for a repayment. In such instances where a partial or full payment was paid by a child or spouse on behalf of a fully eligible person who was wrongly charged and where there was adequate proof that such a payment was made that child or spouse is eligible for a repayment under the scheme.

I presume when referring to the repayment scheme fund, the Deputy means the donation fund which the Health Service Executive may establish under Section 11 of the Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006. The purpose of the donation fund is to allow for patients or family members who are satisfied with the care which was provided for a patient's long term care and wish to surrender all or part of a repayment to help those less fortunate.

Any donations made under this provision are completely voluntary. The fund enables those due a repayment, or anyone who wishes to do so, to donate money which will be used specifically for improvements in the public health services for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, the costs of which are non-recurring. All such donations will be exempt from capital acquisition tax and any probate tax liability.

The fund will be monitored and audited to ensure that the money is used appropriately and for the purposes for which it was intended. Reports on the operation of this fund will also be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)
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Question 713: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if provision is being made in the nursing homes repayment scheme to compensate persons with medical cards who were on a waiting list for a place in a public nursing home but had to take a place in a private nursing home due to the fact that a place was not available in a public nursing home; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29182/06]

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 was signed by the President on 23 June 2006 and the legislative provisions of the Act came into effect on 30 June 2006. The repayment scheme was launched publicly by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the scheme administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald on 14 August 2006. All those fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged for publicly funded long stay residential care and are alive and the estates of those who were wrongly charged and died since 9 December 1998 will have the charges repaid in full.

Persons who were in publicly contracted beds in private nursing homes are covered by the terms of the Supreme Court judgement. The provisions of the judgement do not apply to individuals in private nursing homes who have entered these homes under the Nursing Home Subvention Scheme. In the case of private nursing home care the contract is between the individual and the private nursing home owner.

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