Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 84: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the role of a company (details supplied) in the health repayment scheme; if that company is authorised to initiate phone calls to claimants or to seek withdrawal of appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22393/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has responsibility for administering the Health Repayment Scheme in conjunction with the appointed scheme administrator KPMG/McCann Fitzgerald. The Health (Repayment Scheme) Act 2006 provides a clear legal framework to repay recoverable health charges for publicly funded long term residential care including contract beds in private homes. 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.

The HSE has advised my Department that a very high number of deficiencies have appeared on claim forms which must each be rectified before they can be processed. The Scheme Administrator has taken a proactive role in addressing this issue. In many cases, the Scheme Administrator contacted the claimant to explain the deficiency on the form. This is particularly effective where either a letter has been sent seeking additional information and a response has not been received or where the deficiency is complicated. As a result of this proactive approach there are now less than 800 claim forms with deficiencies.

The HSE has indicated that the Scheme Administrator has not requested any claimant to withdraw an appeal unless they have submitted an appeal form and then subsequently contacted the Scheme Administrator to inform them that they changed their mind. Where this occurs and the claimant contacts the Scheme Administrator to inform them that they now wish to accept the offer then, in that instance, they will be told that the repayment cannot be processed until the appeal is withdrawn.