Prescription charges for over-70s to be reduced from March

Prescription charges paid by more than 330,000 medical card-holders over the age of 70 will be reduced from next March, Minister for Health Simon Harris has announced.

Mr Harris also said that full medical cards will be provided for 9,000 very sick children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance, “as early as possible in 2017”.

Both measures were announced in Budget 2017, but require legislation in order to be implemented.

Mr Harris said he secured Cabinet agreement on Tuesday on the drafting of a Bill to give effect to the two measures.

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Reduction

The prescription charge for over-70s will be reduced by 50 cent per item to €2 per item, with the maximum amount payable in a month dropping from €25 to €20 from March 1st.

“The provision of a medical card to all children in respect of whom a domiciliary care allowance payment is made is a key health commitment in the Programme for Government,” Mr Harris said.