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THE MINISTER FOR Health Stephen Donnelly has announced an expansion of GP Visit Card eligibility.
From next month, people aged up to 69 and parents of children aged 8 and up will be able to apply for a means-tested GP Visit Card online.
The means test assessment will consider a person’s or family’s circumstances, income and expenses in order to determine whether they are eligible for a card.
The online application system will open on a staggered basis in order to cope with demand. The first round of applications will open on 11 September and the second will open on 13 November.
People can apply on the HSE website.
Announcing the expansion in Finglas today, Donnelly said: “For the first time in the history of our State, over half the population will have access to free GP care.
“It’s been targeted very carefully based on median income, and then universality for children. There are a lot of families out there who up until now have not qualified for a medical card, they haven’t qualified for the GP card, and they really can’t afford the fees,” he said.
He said people feel that they “have not had the choice to go to the GP” due to the cost involved, adding that “that is not something we want to see”.
“We want to see everyone able to access their doctor or their local nurse in a GP practice when they need it or when their child needs it, and that really is the group of people that this is focused on.”
Registration for free GP care for children aged six and seven opened earlier this month. Children under 6 years of age have been eligible for GP Visit Cards since 2015.
Donnelly also said that he will not be pushing for further expansion of free GP care in the upcoming Budget.
He said he believes the Government has “pushed that as far as it can be pushed” without creating problems with accessing services for patients.
The free care scheme has been controversial with GP groups. Earlier this year, the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) warned that if more people become medical card holders, they will struggle to get an appointment.
Speaking to reporters, the Minister said the Government had committed to an expansion of the service for children under 12, but said that it did not have a commitment up to the median income.
“We’re doing some of the journey up to the under 12s, that is still government policy, so six and sevens obviously in the last few weeks, and then an additional 430,000 up to the median income,” he said.
“The GPS raised very legitimate concerns in terms of making sure that patients could get access, and the capacity of general practice to absorb this extra demand, which inevitably will follow.
“So I believe that we have pushed that as far as it can be pushed without creating other problems for all of the other patients in terms of access… I’m not anticipating nor will I be asking government for a further expansion in this coming Budget.”
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Now all we need is the GP’s
Must be an election looming.
@B1Chris: Damned if they do, and if they don’t
@SF Means Sh!t 4 Free: Along with a free house to go back to with free electricity and gas and a collection of money trees in the back garden. Those pesky earners over 100k can pay for it.
@B1Chris: why? Expansion of medical cards has been an ongoing policy, personally I’d prefer to see a nominal charge than have it for free.
@SF Means Sh!t 4 Free: FFG certainly are in a giving away mode as the election draws closer. The money tree FFG/ Greens stated didn’t exist suddenly appeared…The borrowing of Money that FFG / Greens stated would be imprudent suddenly went out the window…On top of the € 60 Billions still owed by the Irish people Seems FFG/ Greens are in panic mode… It was not so long ago the Blueshirt/ So called Labour tried to take back medical cards from the most vulnerable …Seem to remember it was connected to the austerity that was to repay for the gangsterism of the banks and developers facilated by FF/ Greens..Funny old world when the pox and the Plague plus the Greens now try to save themselves..Hypocrisy at it’s best
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@Jason Memail: If you move to many counties in Ireland you can’t even register for a GP, they are not taking anymore patients, so what is the point of extending the scheme until they fix the number of GP’s there are available?
One of the greatest bluffers of all time is this guy. Woeful.
@Chris Finch: back in the real world, he’s been one of most effective Ministers for Health in decades.
@Oisin CK: head on in to UHL and spin that tune to those dying on trolleys and their families. No hope, no dignity. That’s the real world my friend.
@Oisin CK: Ohhh ye deluded tool. Vote the MUPPET back in again to our detriment jayus.
@Chris Finch: Regular contributor on here, “The Risen”, called Stephen Donnelly “The best TD in the Dáil”.
What exactly is the income limit? This is a key element missing from the article
Good to know children after 8 years of age don’t get sick.
@Michaela Coelho: anyone can apply for the medical card or gp card. Its means tested & If youre eligble you will get it.
It’s aged up to 69 depending on income, 70 and over already have free GP cards.
That whole scheme is a joke. My daughter has to pay a GP privately (€60) per visit,because all GP’s lists in her area are full for her 1 year old. Obviously no way of claiming these private fees back either. She can drive 60 kms to our original family GP, but who does that with a sick infant. This latest announcement is just bs from government and I wish all those newly elligible good luck finding a doctor firstly and if they do, one that actually answers the phone to give you an appointment. The system is broken badly.
@John Merriman: we had the same issue with our twins,you need two refusals,you then go to the HSE,fill out a form accompanied by the refusal emails and they will assign you one,in our case we were assigned a gp practise who knocked us back in the first place,the mind boggles.
Vincent Browne had the measure of this Muppet
This is a rehash of the press release with the income details missing as contained in the press release on gov.ie
Just me or did anyone else just get a flashback to circa 2021 because of that thumbnail. “901 cases recorded. X in hospital, including Y in ICU”
Everyone under 69??? Criteria please?
Means tested..it is or it isn’t., maybe or not, could be ,but maybe not,yes but you don’t… reapply..
Nice.
I think all minimum wage earners should be entitled to a full medical card, the €184 threshold hasn’t been increased in 20 years, this should move inline with both the minimum wage. There are millionaires in this wonderful country of ours with full medical cards and paying exorbent private health insurance premiums, the rich get richer while the rest of us have to pay for everything and wait years for appointments/surgeries if we live long enough
I was on the fence but now definitely voting FFG next time around.
Pensioners?
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