Sir, – It should be clear from recent events that the medical card system is not fit for purpose and must be scrapped.
The underlying logic of medical cards is that everyone above a certain, modest income can afford medical care and only people below that level need help.
This might have been true in 1970 but medical costs, especially for surgery, drugs and long-term care, are now beyond the means of nearly all of us; practically everyone needs a medical card now. The system is broken – it has to be replaced by one that accommodates the whole population, without discrimination. – Yours, etc,
Dr NORMAN STEWART,
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Seapark,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.