Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 304: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that elderly people are being contacted by staff in the Health Service Executive's health repayment scheme section, to ask them if they want to withdraw their claim for payments made from their own resources towards a patient's care; if this is acceptable behaviour towards elderly people who are fully entitled to make such claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22822/08]

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 institutions. 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 Scheme Administrator is conscious of the fact that applications are being held up within the system and the proactive approach outlined is one of the initiatives undertaken to ensure claimants are repaid as quickly and efficiently as possible.