Hefty inpatient and outpatient hospital fees could soon be a thing of the past, the Health Minister confirmed yesterday.
An €80 fee is currently imposed on patients who do not have a medical card while those who attend an outpatient clinic are hit with a €100 charge.
Yesterday Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the abolition of these fees is being considered by the Government.
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He said he believes that access to health services should be free of charge at the point of access.
A spokesman for the Minister said: “He would like to abolish inpatient and day case charges in 2023, subject to funding. We’ve started with paediatrics this year.”
At present even those on low incomes who don’t have a medical card or some other kind of exemption have to pay between €80 and €100 each time they visit most state medical facilities and outpatient clinics without a referral from their GP.
Covid-19 is one of a number of conditions which attracts an exclusion from the charges.
It is understood that the €100 imposed on those attending emergency departments would be scrapped as part of this review.
“Last month, I got the green light from the Cabinet to abolish in-patient hospital charges for children under 16,” Minister Donnelly wrote in the Irish Independent.
He added: “We plan to abolish these charges this summer, an important step toward universal healthcare.
“At present, families and guardians can be charged €80 a night in a public hospital, up to a maximum of €800 a year. It’s a lot of money. I would like to go further.
“We are actively exploring removing hospital charges for all public patients who are availing of in-patient care in our public hospitals.”
The Minister said it was his view that for too long access to care and health and outcomes had been “adversely impacted by ability to pay”.
And he added: “I believe health services should be affordable or free at the point of delivery.”
He also highlighted a range of other measures which will result in savings for users of the State’s health services – such as the recent cut in the cap of the drug Payment Scheme from €144 to €80.
He pointed out that this could be worth up to €768 a year to families coping with long-term serious illnesses.
Minister Donnelly also indicated his intention to expand free GP care to six- and seven-year-olds later this year.
The Minister also admitted that hospital lists are currently unacceptably long and emphasised his determination to tackle them.
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