HSE targets cutbacks as overspend hits €260m

THE way in which private insurance income is collected by the Health Service Executive is “not sustainable”, agency doctors are costing too much and the medical card scheme is €134 million over budget.

These are just some of the issues raised in the HSE’s latest performance monitoring report which reveals an overspend of €260m to the end of September.

Overall, the executive is projecting a potential deficit of €320m for the end of the year, an improvement from a projection of €405m in August, which shows that savings are being made.