Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

314. To ask the Minister for Health the savings that would be made if all public subsidies for private health care were removed; the tax breaks there are for private hospitals; if a land gift scheme exists in any form, or it is planned to introduce one; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19428/15]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

315. To ask the Minister for Health if charges for use of all beds in public and voluntary hospitals, for the purpose of private medical practice, are currently based on the full economic cost of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19429/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together.

Government policy has been to move towards charging the full economic cost for the provision of private acute in-patient services, while being sensitive to the need for continuing stability in the private health insurance market. In that context, the Government introduced the Health (Amendment) Act 2013, which provides for the charging of all private in-patients in public acute hospitals. The Government believes that the charge for private care in public hospitals should cover the hospitals' costs of providing the service, including the non-consultant hospital doctors, nursing staff, medical and surgical supplies, diagnostics, operating theatres, administration and support staff.

Section 55 of the Health Act 1970, as amended by the Health (Amendment) Act 2013, provides for the making available of private in-patient services and the charging for those private in-patient services. The charge relates to the provision of in-patient services, rather than the use of a bed in a hospital. Persons who opt to be treated on a private basis on admission to hospital are liable for the fees of all consultants involved in his or her care and for hospital charges under Section 55 for that episode of care. The charge is a per diem rate, which is a flat rate daily charge, dependent on the category of hospital treating the patient and on whether a person is accommodated in a single or multiple occupancy room or on a day case basis. The per diem charges set out in the 2013 legislation were informed by overall cost of the provision of the private in-patient services and the policy of moving towards the recovery of full economic cost. While a per diem charging system has the advantage of being relatively straightforward for the hospital, patient and insurer to understand, it does not directly relate to the cost of specific treatments provided to individual private patients, the level of complexity of a case or the costs of individual hospitals.

Regarding the Deputy's questions concerning tax breaks for private hospitals and a land gift scheme, these are matters for the Department of Finance and should be referred to that Department for reply.