Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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59. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to any instances where the Health Service Executive fails to inform a card holder and their GP about the cancellation of a medial card; the number of medical cards that have been rescinded in 2011, 2012 and 2013 contrasted with the overall numbers of active medical cards in those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40063/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I have been advised by the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service that it is unaware of any incident where a medical card has been cancelled or withdrawn without any notice. If you have a particular instance, you should forward the medical card number or PPS number of the person concerned and PCRS will investigate further.

In circumstance where eligibility is rescinded following a review process, the person concerned is notified accordingly and the respective GP is also notified automatically. Should a person, to whom a renewal notification is issued, fail to engage with the HSE during the review process, his/her medical card or GP Visit Card will expire automatically on the expiry date referenced in correspondence to that person.

The number of cards that have been withdrawn is not readily available in the format requested by the Deputy. Details of the number of medical cards and GP Visit Cards are provided to my Department each month by the HSE. These figures are currently provided on a net basis, showing the balance after new cards have been issued and other cards, as appropriate, have been deleted from the Executive's database, e.g. following a review of a person's circumstances. The most recent figures provided to my Department by the HSE reflect the position as at 1 September 2013 and show 1,863,062 medical card holders and 124,361 GP Visit Card holders.