Medical card system criticised

THE MEDICAL card system was badly managed while the administrative costs associated with planned changes to eligibility for the over-70s could cancel any savings made, the Minister of State for Older People was told yesterday.

Minister Máire Hoctor was being addressed by Maureen Kavanagh, chief executive of Active Retirement Ireland, at the organisation's national council meeting in Dublin.

Ms Kavanagh said that throughout the recent debate on medical cards for the over-70s the Government had failed to say how much it intended to save by imposing a means test.

"Active Retirement Ireland believes there are heavy administrative costs associated with the revised scheme which could potentially offset any savings to be made," she said.

"We have always maintained that the medical card scheme for the over-70s, as it currently exists, could be better policed and more effectively administered to ensure there is no abuse of the scheme by GPs or recipients.

"Putting more stringent policing systems in place would be a far better way to produce long-term savings than excluding 5 per cent of the older people from the right to a medical card."

Such "maladministration" of the system was widely acknowledged. Stories had been heard by Active Retirement of GPs continuing to receive a fee from the Government for medical card patients who had died or moved away.

About 200 delegates attended yesterday's conference at which Ms Hoctor was received well and allowed to speak without interruption. The Minister said there was an awareness of the issue of GPs not informing the Health Service Executive when a medical card patient died or moved away.

"The HSE puts considerable effort into working with GPs and reminding them of their obligation to inform them if a person goes off their list. We rely on GPs to inform them of that."

Addressing the issue of the administrative costs associated with the new scheme, and in particular of means testing all over-70s who had not already qualified for a card before reaching that age, she said 1.5 million means tests a year were carried out on people applying for medical cards.

"The extra costs involved will be minimal in view of the fact that 1.5 million a year are done already."

A number of delegates put questions to the Minister. One was from a woman who asked about the situation where she and her husband were entitled to a medical card as their combined income fell below the threshold for a couple to qualify.

However, if her husband were to die, his pension, which she would continue to get after his death, would put her income above the threshold.

Ms Hoctor said this was an issue that concerned her. The HSE and the Department of Health was still "ironing out the details" but she added "this is one issue which I will pursue. It would be very unfortunate if it were imposed".