Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if he will review the operation of the National Treatment Purchase Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7391/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The future of the National Treatment Purchase Fund is among the issues to be considered in the context of the implementation of the Government's commitment to the introduction of a system of Universal Health Insurance. Currently, the NTPF is responsible for arranging care for those patients who have been waiting longest for hospital treatment and for the negotiation, on behalf of the HSE, of nursing home prices under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme. I recognise that the Fund has developed considerable expertise in negotiating and purchasing acute and long-term care. I wish to consider the best way in which to apply this expertise in the interests of improving public access to clinical services.