Medical card error sees €12m overpaid

DOCTORS and chemists have been overpaid by €12 million a year for providing medical care to medical card holders. And the cost of giving medical cards to everyone over 70 was grossly underestimated.

The overpayments were caused by the failure of the Department of Health to accurately estimate the cost of extending medical card eligibility to over-70s, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report.

Criticising the department’s role, C&AG John Purcell said the original cost estimate of €19m was based on out-of-date figures for the number of people aged over 70 in the country.