Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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1048. To ask the Minister for Health if seriously ill patients, or their carer's, are required to reapply for medical cards at six week intervals or at any interval of less than one year; if so the reason for this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45767/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The HSE has an effective system in place for the provision of emergency medical cards for patients who are terminally ill in palliative care, or who are seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford. They are issued within twenty-four hours of receipt of the required patient details and the letter of confirmation of the condition from a doctor or a medical consultant. With the exception of terminally ill patients, the HSE issues all emergency cards on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the basis of means or undue hardship, and that the applicant will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the emergency card. As a result, emergency medical cards are issued to a named individual, with a limited eligibility period of six months.

For persons with a terminal illness in palliative care, no means test applies. Once the terminal illness is verified, patients are given an emergency medical card for six months. Given the nature and urgency of the issue, the HSE has appropriate escalation routes to ensure that the person gets the card as quickly as possible.

In any event, renewal assessment forms automatically issue to the holders of all medical card or GP visit cards, three months prior to the expiry date of the card.