Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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413. To ask the Minister for Health if persons with haemochromatosis are to be charged €80 for outpatient attendance to have their blood drawn off; if so, if this applies just to private patients; if this charge will be imposed on medical card patients also; the justification for imposing fees on this treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42221/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Outpatient charges are set by S. I. No. 45/2013 - Health (Out-Patient Charges) Regulations 2013. Currently the only charge for an outpatient service is at an Emergency Department (ED). Medical Card holders are exempt from this ED charge.

The €80 charged referred to by the Deputy is the statutory daily charge, up to a maximum of €800, where a person has been referred to a hospital for an inpatient service, including that provided on a day case basis. Medical card holders are also exempt from this charge. On this basis, where venesection is classed as a day case procedure and is not carried out in an out patient setting, the public in-patient charge applies. There are no plans at present to exclude haemochromatosis patients from this charge.