Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Health when the promised White Paper on financing universal health insurance will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40036/13]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Government is committed to a major reform programme for the health system, the aim of which is to deliver a single-tier health service, supported by universal health insurance (UHI), where access is based on need, not on income. Under UHI, everyone will be insured and will have equal access to a standard package of primary and acute hospital services, including acute mental health services. An Insurance Fund will subsidise or pay insurance premiums for those who qualify for a subsidy.

The Department is currently preparing a White Paper on Universal Health Insurance which will provide further detail on UHI. Intensive work is proceeding with a view to publishing the White Paper by the end of the year.

More detail in relation to the overall process for producing the White Paper, including the projects, studies and policy appraisals that need to be undertaken, is set out in the preliminary document on UHI, The Path to Universal Healthcare, published by the Department in February 2013 and available on its website, www.doh.gov.ie.