€390m repaid to care home patients

PATIENTS illegally charged by the State for public nursing home beds have received €390 million in repayments over the past three years.

The sum covers 17,605 repayments to living persons and the estates of deceased persons who have died since December 1998 and who qualified for reimbursement under the Health Repayments Scheme.

Figures supplied by the Department of Health show that as of June 26 this year, the scheme had made 20,440 offers of repayment totalling over of €408m. The €408m comprised of: