Pay-outs under public health schemes up 13% in 2003

The amount of money paid out under the medical card scheme and other public health programmes increased by 13% last year, according to the body that administers the initiatives.

In its annual report for 2003, the General Medical Services Board said it paid out €1.43bn during the year under a range of programmes, including the medical card scheme and the drugs payment scheme. This represents an increase of €161m on the figure for 2002.

GMS also said the number of people eligible for benefits under the schemes it administers increased by around 3% to 2.65 million in 2003, mainly due to the granting of medical cards to all people over the age of 70.