Medical cards - Compassion shouldn’t be forgotten

Anyone unfortunate enough to develop cancer or some other serious condition will tell you the medical card is a godsend. Overnight, the stress of having to scrape the euro together while looking on helplessly as a loved one’s condition deteriorates vanishes as though the green and white card were a magic wand.

Even families whose income might be above the means threshold can find it hard to meet the cost of expensive lifesaving medicine. For them, the sense of relief at receiving a discretionary card is tangible.

Besides the cost factor, the card reinforces a sense of belonging. So it is not hard to visualise the numbing sensation of helplessness, mingled with crushing disappointment and mounting anger when a letter from the HSE drops through the letterbox, informing a family that a medical card was being removed or refused outright.