Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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407. To ask the Minister for Health if patients with terminal illness are subject to a means test to qualify for medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51488/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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No means test is applied to a person reporting end stage terminal illness. All that is required is that a medical report be submitted to the HSE verifying the person's condition. On receipt of the report confirmation, a medical card issues within 24 hours to the person concerned for a period of six months. Moreover, it is open to the person concerned or their parents, in the case of a card issuing to a child, to make a full application for medical card eligibility before the expiry of the initial six month period of eligibility.

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. Medical cards approved based on a full eligibility assessment are granted for a period of two years before being subjected to review assessment to determine continuing eligibility.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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411. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to either reduce or increase the level of cash savings with regard to the eligibility for an over-70's medical card application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51513/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Assessment for eligibility for an over-70s medical card is based on gross income from all sources with the exception of specific compensation awards/redress awards and income from a certain amount of savings and similar investments, currently set at €36,000 for a single person and €72,000 for a couple.

There are no proposals at present to change these amounts.