Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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690. To ask the Minister for Health the additional cost of allocating a medical card for all persons with disabilities who do not have a medical card. [54410/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In accordance with the provision of the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE. The Act obliges the HSE to assess whether a person is unable, without due hardship, to arrange general practitioner services for himself or herself and his or her family, having regard to his or her overall financial position and reasonable expenditure and every application must be assessed on that basis.

Under the legislation having a particular illness or disability in itself, does not establish eligibility for a medical card and therefore, the medical conditions of applicants for this scheme are not monitored on that basis. Where the applicant's income is within the income guidelines, a medical card or GP visit card will be awarded. If a person's only income is a means tested Social Welfare Allowance, for example, a Disability Allowance, he/she will qualify for a Medical Card.

In certain circumstances the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card even though an application exceeds his or her income threshold where he or she faces difficult circumstances, such as extra costs arising from an illness or disability.

The Deputy may be aware of the Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility,which was published in 2014. It made a recommendation that a person’s means should remain the main qualifier for a medical card and also recommended that it is neither feasible nor desirable to list conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility.

As stated in previous PQ responses, with regard to the cost of awarding a medical cards to all adults with disabilities, detailed financial analysis would need to be conducted in order to establish as accurately as possible the expected costs to the Exchequer and this information is not readily available to the HSE.