The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly today secured Government approval to expand access to medical cards, making them available to all those who are terminally ill and have a prognosis of up to 24 months.
He will now direct the HSE to put in place arrangements to enable all those with a prognosis of up to 24 months to be eligible for a medical card.
This new arrangement will confer a benefit to patients with diagnoses across a range of specialties such as:
- Neurology
- Cardiology
- Respiratory
- Oncology
The scheme announced today will be in place for 12 months, pending the development of legislative options, which are currently being examined by the Department of Health.
Minister Donnelly says he is pleased to introduce an interim administrative arrangement which will ensure eligible persons can access a medical card while the necessary legislative framework to underpin this arrangement continues to be developed. Working with the HSE, he says the scheme will be in place “within weeks.”
