NEW FIGURES released yesterday by the Health Service Executive (HSE) show more than 63,000 extra people have qualified for medical card cover since the beginning of this year.
A further 8,806 people have qualified for GP visit cards since January 1st. Eligibility criteria for medical cards (other than for those held by over 70s) or GP visit cards have not changed during the year. It appears that worsening economic circumstances means more people are qualifying for these cards.
Earlier this year Prof Brendan Drumm, chief executive of the HSE, warned if unemployment rates were to increase significantly by the end of the year, they could put significant pressure on the HSE's budget, which was already under pressure at that stage.
At an average cost of €1,650 per card, the 63,598 new medical cards issued so far this year will cost the HSE €104 million. The figures show 1.339 million people were covered by medical cards at the beginning of this month, compared to 1.276 million on January 1st. A breakdown of the figures for the extra medical cards issued over the past 10 months show people in all regions have benefited.
An additional 12,724 cards went to the eastern region; an extra 10,379 went to the southeast; an extra 9,748 went to the southern region; an extra 9,070 went to the west; an extra 7,058 went to the northeast; an extra 6,213 went to the midlands; an extra 5,105 went to the midwest; and an extra 3,301 went to the northwest.