It had been a "mistake" to provide free medical services for everyone over 70 and these people should now be means-tested, a meeting of the Southern Health Board was urged yesterday.
Dr Catherine Molloy, vice chairman of the board and a working GP, said the money saved should be used to provide free medical cover for the under-12s and raising of medical card eligibility."There are a lot of people caught in genteel poverty," she said. It would be much fairer to all if people who could afford to pay, did so. Children were suffering. They are our future," Dr Molloy said.
She could not see why means testing could not be carried out for the over-70s, and she urged the board to signify their unease with the inequities. However, Cllr Michael Healy-Rae said those who lived to the age of 70 should be entitled to medical cards. Cllr Seán Martin, brother of the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said means-testing would cost an enormous amount of money. The board was also urged to raise medical card eligibility to more than the rate of inflation.
Dr Bill Mangan, board member and also a GP, said the IMO and other medical organisations had advocated an increase in the threshold for a long time.
"There are very good public health reasons for this. It impacts mostly on the cities," he said. People who could not afford to go to their GPs found their conditions worsened and they ended up in Accident and Emergency units, actually costing the health system more.
Health boards have some remit in decisions about medical cards, but broad general eligibility guidelines was a matter for government, not for individual health boards, Mr Pat Healy, programme manager said.
The executive of the Southern Health Board is now to see if it is feasible financially to transfer resources from over-70s who are able to pay for medical care.