Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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738. To ask the Minister for Health the average cost of attending a day ward in semi-private hospitals; if there are measures which may help alleviate financial burden on patients who find themselves burdened with medical bills following on from necessary procedure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21692/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Section 55 of the Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides for the charging of private in-patients. Where a patient elects to be treated privately by a consultant the hospital must treat that patient as a private patient. Persons who opt to be private 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. Since 1 January 2014, day-case private in-patients in public hospitals are subject to a daily charge of either €329 or €407 depending on the hospital treating the patient. The private in-patient charge goes towards meeting part of the cost of providing the hospital’s services to private patients, for example, the cost of non-consultant doctors, nursing, diagnostic services (such as x-rays and other scans), laboratory services (such as blood tests etc.), medicines, and capital costs.

People with limited eligibility (those who are ordinarily resident but not eligible for a medical card) are entitled, subject to certain charges, to all in-patient public hospital services in public wards including consultant services and out-patient public hospital services including consultant services. The current public hospital statutory in-patient charge is €75 per night, to a maximum of €750 in any twelve consecutive months. People may take out private health insurance to meet the cost of private medical care. A person may claim tax relief in respect of the cost of certain qualifying medical expenses paid where the cost is not covered by the HSE or by private health insurance or has been, or will be, the subject of a compensation payment.

I do hope that this answer adequately explains the current position.