Varadkar to receive report on medical card reform

The Government’s expert report into how the medical card system can be reformed is set to be handed to Health Minister Leo Varadkar by the end of this month.

The document is due to be sent to HSE director general, Tony O Brien, over the coming days, who will consider its findings over the next fortnight.

He will then send a final version to Mr Varadkar before the health minister examines its proposals and recommends them to Cabinet in time for the plan to be published before the October 14 budget.

The report is based on the views of a 23-strong expert panel of doctors, administrators and patients, who were tasked with reforming the system after a year of scandal surrounding discretionary medical cards.

While then junior health minister, Alex White, said at the time of expert group’s announcement that the document would detail how people with set conditions will be guaranteed the vital support, senior HSE and Department of Health spokespeople have strongly suggested this will not be possible.

Weekend reports that have not been disputed said the expert document will state the present focus on an individuals’ financial situation will be replaced by a new focus based entirely on a person’s health condition and the impact it has on their life.

However, it is believed it will say that guaranteeing medical cards for people with set conditions — for example, cancer sufferers — will not be possible due to the costs involved.

Instead, the report is likely to recommend that medical cards will be provided to people based purely on their specific medical needs, and if these conditions directly impact on their lives, such as preventing them or their partner from working.

The situation means that people with specific medical conditions will not be automatically entitled to a medical card — an issue which , if it is rubber-stamped, is almost certain to be a serious bone of contention for groups like Our Children’s Health, the Jack and Jill Foundation and others.

A senior HSE spokesperson declined to comment on the exact details of a document it has yet to formally receive.

A spokesperson for Mr Varadkar said: “The expert panel is to report to the director general of the HSE this month, who will then brief the minister.”

Days after his appointment as health minister, Mr Varadkar suggested plans to provide medical cards to everyone with set conditions may not be possible and would need the “wisdom of Solomon” — a view campaign groups claimed ignored previous Government promises to address the crisis.