Call for more humane approach to medical card approval in Laois

A Laois TD has called on the HSE to take a more compassionate approach to medical card approval. 

The call came after an increasing number of people who were refused a card attended at the constituency offices of Independent TD Carol Nolan. 

She wants the HSE to provide a more flexible and humane response to people who apply for a medical card.

She said medical cards refusals are often based on someone being marginally over the income threshold.

“I would be the first to acknowledge that some aspects of the medical card situation have improved over the last number of years, in particular around the granting of cards to all children under 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cancer without the need of a financial assessment,” Deputy Nolan said.

However, she said, “I am increasingly concerned by the amount of people coming to my offices who have been left anxious and genuinely afraid after they were informed by the HSE that their application for a medical card was refused; often because they were as little as €15 over the income threshold.”

According to Deputy Nolan, “the majority of these constituents would be elderly people with fixed incomes, such as a pension scheme, who are also trying to manage one or more chronic health conditions.”

She claimed “the HSE do have flexibility to take full account of the difficult circumstances in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines, especially where those people face difficult financial circumstances, such as extra costs arising from a chronic illness. The problem I am finding in my offices however is that despite clearly and unequivocally demonstrating that hardship will follow -the cards are still being denied.”

She believes matters other than an imminent life-threatening illness should be considered by the HSE. “It should not take such extreme circumstances before we allow for the introduction of a more compassionate and humane response. There are many people out there enduring painful and chronic medical conditions that are being driven into financial and physical hardship by this approach. It has to be reviewed immediately,” concluded Deputy Nolan.