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Health Service Executive: North-Eastern Area - Medical Cards Withdrawn

Year Concluded: 2005

Complaint Details:

An elderly man contacted my Office in relation to the decision of the Health Service Executive (HSE) North-Eastern Area to withdraw both his own and his wife's medical card. Entitlement to medical cards is means tested and based on household income, although a card may be awarded on medical grounds even though the means exceed the guidelines, as was the case with my complainants. When their medical card came up for renewal in 2005, their weekly income again exceeded the income guidelines applicable in their circumstances, even allowing for reasonable medical expenses. Their appeal to have their medical card restored was rejected by the HSE. I requested a review of the couple's entitlement as they were experiencing severe financial difficulties in meeting the cost of their medical care. However, the HSE refused to revise its decision on the basis that their income was considerably over scale.

I asked the HSE to review the case a second time as I was concerned that the decision to withdraw the medical card had, effectively, left two elderly pensioners without proper access to necessary medical services. The man advised that his wife required twenty-four hour care as a result of her medical condition and that the financial burden of providing this care was such that sometimes he could not afford to visit his GP or pay for his own medication. I also made the point that there had not been any significant change in the complainant's financial circumstances from the time the couple had initially been awarded the medical card.

Outcome:

The HSE agreed to review the case again and the couple subsequently had their medical card restored, given the extenuating circumstances in their case.

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