Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 658: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the plans she has to extend the nursing home refund to patients in private, non-contracted, nursing home beds, who were in receipt of a medical card and could not avail of a public bed due to the lack of capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1170/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 provides a clear legal framework to repay recoverable health charges for publicly funded long term residential care. All those fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged and are alive will have their charges repaid in full. The estates of all those fully eligible persons who were wrongly charged for publicly funded long term residential care and died since 9 December 1998 will have the charges repaid in full. The scheme does not allow for repayments to the estates of those who died prior to that date.

Recoverable health charges are charges which were imposed on persons with full eligibility under the Health (Charges for In-patient Services) Regulations 1976 as amended in 1987 or charges for in-patient services only, raised under the Institutional Assistance Regulations 1954 as amended in 1965.

Persons who were in publicly contracted beds in private nursing homes are covered by the terms of the Supreme Court judgment. The provisions of the judgment 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.