The Minister of Health, Stephen Donnelly has announced a range of affordable healthcare measures which came into effect yesterday, November 1st.
Minister Donnelly said he secured funding to introduce three new main measures.
These include: 70s medical card income limits, a reduction in the Drugs Payment Scheme threshold by €10 to €114 per month and a 50c reduction in prescription charges for all medical card holders.
Speaking about the news, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said “Making healthcare more affordable is a key priority for this Government.
"These measures will ease the financial burden on over one million people across the country. The measures are wide-ranging, and will benefit both young and old, single and those in families. In particular, giving more people over 70 access to medical cards will benefit their quality of life and help them to live healthier, active lives for longer.”
A range of measures to make healthcare more affordable came into effect yesterday.
They include:
▪️Increases in the Over 70s medical card income limit
▪️ 50 cent cut to Prescription Charges
▪️ Reduction in the Drugs Payment Scheme Threshold to €114https://t.co/QQsMlwCNpWAdvertisement— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) November 2, 2020
He added: “The winter ahead will be challenging as we continue to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic."
Mr Donnelly said the new measures will help people throughout this winter and he wants to encourage everyone who needs medical attention to seek it immediately.
Medical card limits
He added that "Our hospitals are open and our doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are treating patients. If you have any concerns about your health, please contact your GP straight away.”
Under the new measures, the over 70s medical card income limits have increased to €550 per week for a single person (currently €500 per week) and to €1050 for a couple (currently €900 per week). 56,000 people are said to benefit from this new measure.
The Minister said there will be a 50 cent reduction in prescription charges for all medical card holders, which will benefit over 1.58 million people with medical card eligibility.
Eligible people under 70 will now only pay a maximum of €15 per month for prescribed medicines. Those over 70 will only pay a maximum of €10 per month for prescribed medicines.
Finally, the Minister announced that the Drugs Payment Scheme threshold which was set at €144 per month in 2012, will now be reduced to €114 per month.
