Written answers
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Department of Health
Medical Card Eligibility
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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564. To ask the Minister for Health the reason persons aged 16 to 25 years who are in receipt of social welfare allowance at the reduced rate of between €100 and €164 are being turned down in their medical card applications because they are not receiving the full jobseeker's amount of €188; if he will agree that medical card guidelines state that persons with only a social welfare income are entitled to a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40396/13]
Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Medical Card and GP Visit Card applications are processed in accordance with the Medical Card and GP Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines. The Guidelines were revised and up-dated in May 2013 and are available to access on the HSE.ie website.
The current National Assessment Guidelines state that persons aged between 16 and 25 years may have entitlement to a medical card/GP visit card if they meet any of the following conditions:
- A dependant of a person with approved medical card or GP visit card eligibility
- Financially independent with means that are within the current medical card/GP visit card income limits. 'Financial independence' as it relates to persons aged between 16 and 25 is defined in the National Assessment Guidelines as “... in receipt of income equivalent to or greater than the current income guideline for a single person living with family” i.e. €164 or more per week
- Providing GP or medical or surgical services would be the cause of 'undue hardship' or 'unduly burdensome' on the person themselves, if financially independent, or on the person they are a dependant of
- A dependant of a person holding current medical card/GP visit card eligibility, or are
- Assessed eligible on the grounds of 'undue hardship'/ 'undue burden'
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