Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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710. To ask the Minister for Health the cost of extending free general practitioner care to all children, to every person of 60 years of age and over, and to the entire population. [1565/16]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2015, the HSE, Department of Health and Irish Medical Organisation are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of the General Medical Services (GMS) and other publicly funded health sector contracts involving GPs. A priority of these discussions will be the inclusion of chronic disease management for patients. It is not possible in advance of completion of the negotiation process to foresee what the outcome of the review may be and its consequent effect on the average cost of a GP visit card. Therefore, depending on the outcome of these negotiations, the estimated costs of extending free General Practitioner care to children over 6, persons over 60 years of age and the entire population may vary from the estimates provided, as these have been produced on the basis of the current costs.

Assuming the same terms, conditions, services as the contract for those children under the age of six years, the cost of extending Free GP care to the 6-18 year old age cohort is estimated at approximately €80 million.

The cost of extending free GP care to those aged between 66 and 70 is estimated at approximately €20 million. My Department has been unable to calculate the cost of GP visit cards for the 60-65 age cohort because the figures for this age group are not available from the HSE's Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) - its standard grouping being aged 55 to 64 years. The cost of extending free GP care to those aged between 19 and 65 on the same basis as the current contract is estimated at approximately €400 million. The PCRS's most recently available average cost of a GP visit card was used in these estimations.

The cost of extending free GP care to those not already covered by free GP care would be, on the basis of the above range of assumptions and estimations, in the region of €500 million.