Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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197. To ask the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary question No. 295 of 9 December 2014, in circumstances where a person aged over 70 years wishes to remain with his or her non-public sector general practitioner rather than parading around with his or her personal medical file to other GPs, if the non-public general practitioner's prescription will have the same recognition and equal status as that of a public sector GP, in other words, the prescription would be completed at the same cost at the pharmacy as would be the prescription of a public sector GP. [48759/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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A medical card, as issued by the Health Service Executive (HSE), confirms that the holder is entitled, free of charge, to a range of Health Services, including:

- A choice of General Medical Practitioner from those doctors who have a contract with the HSE; and

- The supply of prescribed approved medicines, aids and appliances, subject to prescription charges.

A GP visit card holder is also entitled to a choice of General Medical Practitioner, similar to a medical card holder but is not entitled to prescribed approved medicines free of charge.

GMS contract holders must provide prescriptions to their medical card patients on the relevant GMS prescription form in order for them to receive their medication free of charge, subject to any applicable prescription charges. GMS prescription forms are not available to non GMS contract holders and, therefore, prescriptions written by General Medical Practitioners who do not hold a GMS contract are not reimbursable under the GMS scheme and are instead a private transaction matter between the patient and the pharmacist for which the relevant costs will apply.

The Drugs Payment Scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines. Under the scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines.