More than 100,000 low earners have lost medical cards, says Labour

OVER 100,000 low income people have lost their medical cards here since this Government first took office seven years ago, the Labour Party will reveal today.

Labour's analysis of what they call the "deception" on medical cards and the impact medical bills have on low income families who do not qualify for the medical card will be published in Dublin today.

Just 25.7% of the population now qualify for medical cards here a drop of over 100,000 people since this Government took power, according to Labour's Health spokeswoman Liz McManus.

"This is because the income thresholds have not increased the way they should have to keep up with medical inflation," Deputy McManus said.

In 1997, figures show that 37% of the population had medical cards and when this government was re-elected two years ago that figure had dropped to 30%.

"No wonder the Government were promising at the time to put 200,000 more medical cards into the system they knew the scale of the drop but they have failed so far to deliver on this promise," Deputy McManus said.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) confirmed in another survey last month that no more medical cards have been issued in overall terms to low income families since this Government took office.

The extension of the medical card to over 70s has lead to a huge inequity in the system where doctors had to be paid four times more to look after one of these patients than an ordinary medical card holder, Deputy McManus said.

The Labour Party would continue to challenge the situation as "doctors are moving to better off areas to cash in the medical card scheme for the over 70s".