Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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657. To ask the Minister for Health if he will urgently review the maximum reimbursement levels for orthopaedic surgery under the Cross Border Directive; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many families are getting into debt due to vast differences in price north and south of the Border for these procedures (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4377/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NI PHS) has been in effective operation since 1 January 2021. This Scheme was introduced to mitigate the loss of access to care from private providers in Northern Ireland under the EU Cross Border Directive, which ceased to apply as a result of Brexit. The new scheme enables persons resident in the State to access and be reimbursed for private healthcare in Northern Ireland by the HSE, provided such healthcare is publicly available within Ireland.

Patients are required to pay upfront for treatment under the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme and claim for reimbursement from the HSE.  Such healthcare will be reimbursed at the cost of providing that treatment in the State or the cost of same in Northern Ireland, whichever is the lesser. It is important to note that reimbursement is confined to the costs of the care itself and does not include any additional costs, such as currency exchange, travel or accommodation costs, incurred by the patient. Patients are advised to contact the HSE CBD office directly for further information on individual applications for reimbursement under the NI Planned Healthcare Scheme. Contact details are available on the HSE CBD website.