David Cullinane
Question:386. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of reducing the drug payment scheme threshold to €5, €10, €15, €20, €40, €60 and €80, in tabular form. [30396/24]
View answerMedicinal Products
Questions (386)
Written answers
The Drug Payment Scheme (DPS) provides for the refund of the amount by which expenditure on approved prescribed medicines or medical and surgical appliances exceeds a named threshold in any calendar month. The DPS is not means tested and is available to anyone ordinarily resident in Ireland.
The DPS threshold was reduced twice in 2022:
• From €114 to €100 per month on 1 January 2022.
• From €100 to €80 per month on 1 March 2022.
Therefore, currently, under the DPS, no individual or family pays more than €80 a month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines.
The cost of reducing the DPS is estimated as follows:
|
Threshold |
Cost |
|
€60 |
€41.2m |
|
€40 |
€95.1m |
|
€20 |
€161.6m |
|
€15 |
€180.3m |
|
€10 |
€199.7m |
|
€5 |
€219.9m |
These costings do not take account of changes in demographics, eligibility (e.g., changes in the number of medical card holders), or claimant behaviour arising from the DPS reduction.
Prescriptions Charges
Questions (387)
David Cullinane
Question:387. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the cost of reducing prescription charges to €0 in increments of €0.50 for people aged under 70 years and people aged 70 years and older. [30397/24]
View answerWritten answers
Prescription charges were introduced in the Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2010. On 1 November 2020, prescription charges were reduced as follows:
• For those aged over 70, €1.00 per item with a maximum charge of €10 per month.
• For those aged under 70, €1.50 per item with a maximum charge of €15 per month.
The below table sets out the cost of reducing prescription charges to €0.00 in increments of €0.50 for people aged under 70 years and people aged 70 years and older.
|
Prescription charge level |
€1.00 |
€0.50 |
€0.00 |
|
People aged 70 and over |
- |
€24.4m |
€48.7m |
|
People aged under 70 |
€15.3m |
€23.2m |
€46.5m |
|
Total cost |
€15.3m |
€47.6m |
€95.2m |
These costings do not take account of changes in demographics or in eligibility (e.g., changes in the number of medical card holders). It also does not take account of how a reduction in prescription charges may impact claimant behaviour.
Hospital Charges
Questions (388)
David Cullinane
Question:388. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of reducing injury unit charges to €50. [30398/24]
View answerWritten answers
Injury Units (IU’s) play a key role in providing unscheduled emergency care for patients with non-life threatening or limb threatening injuries, as conveniently as possible, while ensuring patient safety and equitable standards of care within an Emergency Care Network.
There has been a steady increase in attendances at IU’s year on year as outlined below (Table 1). Between January and May 2024, there was an 11% increase in IU attendances compared to the same period last year.
Table 1. – Injury Unit activity 2021-2023
|
IU attendances |
% Change compared to previous year |
|
|
2021 |
109,378 |
22.5% |
|
2022 |
146,860 |
34.3% |
|
2023 |
165,089 |
12.4% |
*This data is taken from the HSE’s Management Data Report (MDR) and is provisional and subject to change.
It should be noted that there is no charge for people attending IU’s who either have a medical card or a GP referral letter.
In 2023, a review of all Injury Units was undertaken by a HSE Working Group. This group made a series of recommendations to improve the functionality of Injury Units for patients. This report was adopted by the HSE EMT and has been shared with my Department.
Two recommendations emerging from the 2023 National Review of IUs were:
1) to expand geographical coverage and prioritise locations for the provision of Injury Units, and
2) to expand all existing acute hospital governed IUs to operate from 8am to 8pm.
I provided resources under the NSP 2024 to standardise all IU’s to open from 8am to 8pm by Q3 2024. In addition, I requested the HSE to develop an implementation plan for the IU expansion programme. This work is currently under way.
As the cost of reducing injury unit charges is not currently under consideration the information requested by the Deputy is not available at this time.
Hospital Charges
Questions (389)
David Cullinane
Question:389. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of removing car parking charges for patients. [30399/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Healthcare Infrastructure Provision
Questions (390)
David Cullinane
Question:390. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the full cost of delivering each of the acute bed units completed in 2023 and to date in 2024; the number of acute beds delivered in each project; the full disaggregated cost, by cost type; and the cost per annum for each project. [30400/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Healthcare Infrastructure Provision
Questions (391)
David Cullinane
Question:391. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the annual all-in cost of an acute inpatient bed. [30401/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
Health Services
Questions (392)
David Cullinane
Question:392. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the cost of 10,000 diagnostic scans, by scan type. [30402/24]
View answerWritten answers
As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.