- Mon-Fri: 9am-8pm; Sat: 9am-6pm
- 01 443 2109
Need it today?
Free Same Day Local Delivery
Currently, Ireland has a well-developed, publicly financed public health system. As a result, the entire Irish healthcare system has exceptionally high standards.
All residents of Ireland have the right to health care through the public health care system. Notably, most of the programs fall under the direct supervision of the Health Service Executive and are supported by general taxes and subsidized service fees.
Under the 2004 Health Act, the majority of the population obtains medical treatment at no cost. The remaining population obtains substantially subsidized services through the public system or opts for private insurance coverage.
Understanding the Irish National Healthcare
Made available to all legal citizens of Ireland, its public health system allows everyone to get the best possible treatment across all health institutions in the country. However, the type of treatment required for your medical appointments determines the amount you have to pay for the healthcare services.
Nevertheless, approximately 40% of the population gets access to completely free public services through the Medical Card system. Also known as Category 1 Care, eligible patients get all medical visits, hospital treatment, diagnostics, and medicines without any extra cost.
The Medical Card
A person’s eligibility for the Medical Card scheme depends on the income that a working citizen receives weekly. However, a variety of other elements needs further considerations, such as rent and mortgage payments, work-related travel expenditures, and childcare.
So, a single specific revenue doesn’t determine the criterion of all the medical and healthcare services that you get. For example, if paying into the system causes you excessive financial hardship, the Medical Card system suits perfect for you.
The Doctor’s Visit Card
In addition to the Medical Card system, the Doctor’s Visit Card works for people who barely meet the eligibility criteria for a Medical Card. Also known as the GP (General Practitioner) Visit Card, roughly 10% of the Irish population gets this as an alternative to the regular medical care system.
As the name suggests, the card provides free doctor visits yet it does not offer the additional advantages that come with a Medical Card. Then, all other added services that a doctor performs for you require fees with the medicine that you need for treatment.
The application process for a Medical Card and a GP Visit Card remains the same. If you apply for the Medical Card and become ineligible, you receive an evaluation to get a Doctor Visit Card instead.
Who has access to health care in Ireland?
Today, Ireland has a robust public healthcare system sponsored by the government. The HSE considers a person who lived in Ireland for at least one year as an ‘ordinarily resident,’ with the entitlement to either full eligibility (Category 1) or limited eligibility (Category 2) for health services.
People who didn’t live in Ireland for at least a year need to persuade the HSE that they intend to stay for at least a year for eligibility in Ireland’s health care services. Dependents of such persons need to reach out to the HSE to check their eligibility as well.
Coverage in the Absence of a Medical Card or a GP Visit Card
A person who doesn’t make it to the eligibility requirements for a Medical Card or a GP Visit Card still needs to apply for healthcare services. Under the universal healthcare system, members need to pay for medical services in full.
For example, a doctor’s appointment typically costs €50 Unless you have a doctor’s referral, the average cost of an emergency department visit sums up to €100 under Category 2 care. Some services and programs remain open to everyone if you sign up for them ahead of time.
Thus, the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) caps the amount you spend on prescription drugs each month at €144. If you suffer a long-term illness, the Long-Term Illness Scheme pays your expenditures.
The Maternity and Infant Treatment Scheme offers medical care to pregnant and new mothers, as well as their infants.
DPS in the Irish Medical System
According to the Drugs Payment Scheme, a member needs to pay a maximum of €114 in a calendar month for approved prescribed drugs and medicines and certain appliances. It covers the use of the member himself and your family in that month.
Luckily, the monthly threshold for the membership goes down from €114 to €100 per month in 2022. The HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service provides an approved list of medicines or aids provided under the Drugs Payment Scheme.
Rules
To qualify for this scheme, you need an ordinarily resident status in Ireland. Being ordinarily resident in Ireland means that you lived in the country for a minimum of one year or that you intend to live here for a minimum of one year.
The scheme covers the person who applied, his or her spouse/partner, and children aged under 18 (or under 23 if in full-time education). It also includes a family member who has a physical, intellectual disability, or illness in the family regardless of age.
When you register for the DPS, you get a plastic swipe card for each person named on the registration form. You need to present this card whenever you have prescriptions filled.
Using the DPS Card
Primarily, you do not have to register with a particular pharmacy for the scheme. However, members need to use the same pharmacy in a particular month if they wish to avoid paying more than the maximum of €114 for convenience.
How to Apply for the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS)
All citizens who desire to apply for the Drugs Payment Scheme online at mydps.ie or file your application form from your Local Health Office. Download a copy of the Drug Payment Scheme application form (pdf).
Long-Term Illness Scheme
If you have a health condition protected by the Long-Term Illness Scheme, you get free drugs, medicines, and medical and surgical appliances for the treatment of that condition. To qualify for the service, you need an ordinarily resident status in Ireland.
This includes citizens who grew up in Ireland or someone who intends to live here in the country for at least one year. However, students from outside the EU do not qualify for the Long-Term Illness Scheme.
Notably, the Long-Term Illness Scheme does not depend on your income or other circumstances. You need a Medical card or GP visit card to qualify depending on your circumstances.
Application Process
If you qualify for the Long-Term Illness Scheme, you receive a long-term illness card. Thus, you don’t have to pay a prescription charge for all the drugs approved under the Long-Term Illness Scheme.
Other unrelated drugs and medicines to your specified condition need regular payment. If your doctor or occupational therapist prescribes a medical or surgical appliance, you need to seek the assistance of your Local Health Office.
The High-Tech Scheme
Introduced to facilitate the supply of advanced and innovative medicines, the High-Tech Scheme coincides with the use of chemotherapy primarily in the hospital setting. Typically, it includes drugs to prevent transplant organ rejection and some cancer treatments assisted reproductive technology medicines.
Notably, High Tech Medicines connote the expensive medicines produced by biotechnological means. It contains new drugs with significant new therapeutic uses or requires prescribing by a consultant in a hospital setting.
High Tech Medicines prescribed in hospitals use a specified form. It comes along with the Medical Card, Drugs Payment, Long Term Illness, or Health Amendment Act Schemes, as appropriate.
The Process of Procurement
The Health Services Executive (HSE) directly pays drug companies for High Tech Medicines. As a result, a prescribed High-Tech Medicine needs notification from the HSE as a signal of authorization to supply it.
If you have a full medical card or medicine used to treat one of the illnesses specified under the Long-Term Illness Scheme (LTI), you get no charge for your High-Tech Medicine. Patients with eligibility under the Health Amendment Act also get an exemption from any charge.
All other patients who don’t have any members under the Irish healthcare system need to pay the monthly Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) contribution (currently €134). Usually, it does not result in any delay in you receiving your treatment outside of normal pharmacy supply lead times.
Hardship Scheme
Families who have a medical card becomes eligible for the hardship scheme to access treatment materials and other medical supplies. The program covers medical card holders for health-related items, prescribed by a doctor but not available through the medical card.
If you have a medical card and you need dressings and bandages for a wound, you have the right to access such items through the Hardship Scheme. However, accessing this scheme varies depending on what part of the country you live in.
How to Access the Hardship Scheme
For example, all members can access your dressings via your Local Health Office if you reside in Dublin, Wicklow, or Kildare all members can access your dressings via your Local Health Office. You just need to fill in a form and have it stamped by your doctor and by your Public Health Nurse.
If you live somewhere else in the country, you need to call your local pharmacy first before going to any health specialist. Your local pharmacist needs to make an application on your behalf to seek approval from the HSE to dispense your items.
After submission, your application receives an assessment based on the patient’s financial circumstances and the urgency of the items requested for the patient’s treatment. Consequently, the paperwork takes some time to go through.
A Guide to the Health Amendment Act Scheme
Primarily, the Health Amendment Act of 1996 sets out the legal framework for a range of healthcare services established and provided to all men, women, and children. It works with people suffering from Hepatitis C as a result of administration within the State of contaminated blood and blood products.
All patients infected with Hepatitis C via contaminated blood and blood products receive a Health Amendment Act (HAA) card which gives them access on a statutory basis to a wide range of primary care and hospital-based services.
The HAA card remains one of the most important cards awarded by the HSE, as it gives entitlement to a range of services for the lifetime of the cardholder. If an HAA cardholder has received private health insurance, you need to retain all the other hospital service benefits within the public hospital setting only.
As an HAA cardholder, you get the following benefits within the community setting or outside of the hospital:
Availing the Health Amendment Act Scheme
First, you need to present your medical card when accessing services in some cases, particularly if you have not attended the service before. However, you need to keep your card with you at all times in case you are asked to produce it.
Your HAA card has a unique 6-digit number beginning with the letter R (i.e., R98765). This number works as a reminder by the HSE for reimbursement purposes among the service providers providing you with care.
In the case of GP services, you need to attend any GP of your choosing free of charge. Contact your Liaison Officer if you run into difficulty.
Methadone Scheme
In October 1998, the Methadone Treatment Protocol (MTP) was established as a crucial reaction to the high rates of HIV infections. These fatalities connect with the growing heroin epidemic in Dublin’s socially disadvantaged community at the time.
Despite a body of medical data supporting methadone maintenance as a beneficial harm reduction approach, the Methadone scheme lowered the HIV and HCV transmission rates. Also, it enhanced opiate users’ health and social functioning that received reactions ranging from anger to acceptance due to its implementation.
The first twenty years of the Methadone Scheme have been a voyage of service improvement and political campaigning to obtain the best possible outcomes. It targets patients in need of opiate substitution therapy, thanks to the hard work of strong advocates, both statutory and non-statutory.
The organized framework of the MTP helped to assuage the worries of many hesitant GPs to get engaged in methadone therapy. So, the structure provided training, assistance, quality assurance, and payment for general practitioners that provided comprehensive treatment to drug users.
European Health Insurance Card
Through European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), it entitles you to free or reduced-cost healthcare in another EU or European Economic Area (EEA) member state. It protects you when you are on vacation or a short-term stay.
Typically, a short-term stay works for people who stay in Ireland for less than three months. A student, however, acts as a visitor for a short-term stay of up to a full academic year.
Several methods apply in your application depending on whether you live in Ireland. It also applies if you live in a country from European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA), or Switzerland.
The Private Healthcare System in Ireland
Private healthcare remains a popular choice in Ireland as a fantastic method to avoid the high wait periods that are common with public healthcare. However, enrollment declined slightly in recent years as insurance costs have risen.
However, it works as an appealing proposition, not just because public healthcare frequently ends up costing money. Many insurance cover expenditures at private institutions, or even at Ireland’s numerous “high-tech” hospitals.
Employers may also provide private healthcare plans, so it’s worth checking to see if this applies to you. The Health Insurance Authority regulates private insurance (HIA) so you need to locate the best choice for you, whether that’s comprehensive insurance or a cash plan.
Dental Treatment Plan
All medical card users receive coverage by the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS). It includes citizens aged 16 years and over). Qualified members receive a variety of dental procedures from dentists who are on the Health Services Executive’s DTSS contract (HSE).
Medicine Tax Relief
Irish taxpayers claim tax relief on payments paid for health care in any calendar year. This includes fees for prescription drugs.
To claim this tax relief, you need to fill out a Med 1 form (available at your local tax office) after the fiscal year. Then, your local pharmacy gives you a printout of your total prescription spending over any time.
