Medical Card/G.P. Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines
Medical Card/G.P. Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines
Medical Card/G.P. Visit Card National Assessment Guidelines
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Appendix V: Legislation affecting <strong>Medical</strong> <strong>Card</strong>s, G.P. <strong>Visit</strong><br />
<strong>Card</strong>s and Health Services<br />
Section 45, Health Act 1970<br />
The main provisions governing eligibility to health services are to be found in Part IV of the Health<br />
Act, 1970.<br />
Section 45 of that Act deals with “full eligibility”. The revised text of Section 45 which follows<br />
incorporates changes effected by the Health (Amendment) Act, 1991 (in relation to ordinarily<br />
resident), the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2001 (in relation to the non means testing of<br />
people aged 70 years and over) and the Health (Amendment) Act 2005 (No. 3 of 2005)<br />
“45 – (1) A person in either of the following categories and who is ordinarily resident in the State<br />
shall have full eligibility for the services under this Part:-<br />
(a) Adult persons who, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, are unable without<br />
undue hardship to arrange general practitioner medical and surgical services for<br />
themselves and their dependants,<br />
(b) Dependants of the persons referred to in paragraph (a)<br />
(2) In deciding whether or not a person comes within the category mentioned in subsection (1)<br />
(a), the Health Service Executive shall have regard to the person’s overall financial situation<br />
(including the means of the spouse, if any, of that person in addition to the person’s own means)<br />
in view of the person’s reasonable expenditure in relation to himself or herself and his or her<br />
dependants, if any.<br />
(3) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, by regulations specify a class<br />
or classes of persons, who shall be deemed to be within the categories mentioned in subsection<br />
(1).<br />
(4) A draft of regulations which it is proposed to make under this section shall be laid before<br />
each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving<br />
the draft has been passed by each House.<br />
(5) Section 5(5) of the Health Act 1947, shall not apply to regulations under this section.<br />
a) A person who is not less than 70 years of age and is ordinarily resident in the State shall<br />
have full eligibility for the services under this Part and, not withstanding subsection (6),<br />
references in this Part to persons with full eligibility shall be construed as including<br />
references to such persons.<br />
Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2001<br />
a) in section 45, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):<br />
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