Treatment Purchase Fund - Public has a right to know fees

THE Government’s refusal to reveal what consultants are paid under the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) is testimony to its abrogation of the much-vaunted pledge to run the country with greater accountability and transparency.

According to Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney, consultant services for public patients are bought at competitive prices. As the taxpayer picks up the bill, it is outrageous that prices paid for procedures ranging from cataracts to cardiac surgery should be concealed from the public gaze.

The reason given for this secrecy is that the pricing information is “commercially sensitive”. Under a reformed health system, medical consultants should cease to enjoy the privileged position they have held for so long.