Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 285: To ask the Minister for Health and Children her views on whether patients who go from having private health insurance to being medical card holders are being or should be discriminated against or treated differently by general practitioners. [11190/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Under the Health Act, 2004, the Health Service Executive, HSE, has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for ensuring arrangements are in place to ensure appropriate service delivery for general medical services, GMS, scheme — medical card and GP visit card — patients.

The GMS scheme provides for a choice of doctor for medical card and GP visit card holders. Where a patient fails to secure their GP of choice, s/he may be assigned to a GMS contracted GP by the HSE. Under the GMS contract between the HSE and a GP, a GP shall ensure that no discrimination or differentiation is exercised as between the treatment of eligible and private patients within the practice and take reasonable steps to ensure no such discrimination is perceived.