Medicines are very valuable in maintaining your health and keeping you alive. However, the general perception is that they are expensive, despite the reductions in price that have occurred over the past decade! It is noteworthy that pharmacies do not compete on price but on the service they provide to you as it is unethical for them to promote medicines as if they were normal articles of commerce because, understandably, cheapest may not always be best. However, many people are paying too much for their medicines as they seem to be unaware of their entitlement to the various State schemes available which help to reduce the financial burden on them.

The Medical Card Scheme

Whether or not you pay for health care depends on your eligibility for a medical card or a GP Visit card. This eligibility depends entirely on your personal income and circumstances.

Medical and GP Visit cards are issued by the Health Service Executive (HSE); applications can be made through the HSE.

Medical Card Holders

Medical card holders are entitled to free medical treatment and medicines from their General Practitioner (GP) and free hospital services.

If you hold a medical card, the following services are available to you free of charge:

GP services.

Prescribed medicines.

All in-patient public hospital services in public wards (including consultant services).

All out-patient public hospital services (including consultant services).

Dental, ophthalmic and aural services and appliances.

Maternity and infant care service. This includes the services of a family doctor during pregnancy and family doctor services for mother and baby for up to six weeks after the birth.

Maternity cash grant of €10.16 for each child born.

GP Visit Card Holders

Certain people, who do not qualify for a full medical card, may be eligible for a GP Visit Card. The GP Visit Card is designed to assist those who do not qualify for a medical card on income grounds but for whom the cost of visiting a GP is often prohibitively high.

GP Visit holders are entitled to the services of a GP free of charge. Any medicines prescribed by the GP are not free, (see later under Drug Payment Scheme). Any in-patient public hospital services and out-patient public hospital services associated with a medical condition are free, but there is a charge for certain hospital services.

Non-Medical Card Holders

If you do not have a medical card, you will be required to pay for visiting your GP and for prescribed medicines up to a certain level (€120 per month) see later – Drug Payment Scheme. You are entitled to free public hospital services, but may have to pay certain in-patient and out-patient hospital charges.

You are also entitled to subsidised maternity and infant care services and you may be entitled to free or subsidised community care and personal social services.

Certain schemes are offered to everyone without charge, such as combined antenatal care and childhood immunisation. People suffering from certain illnesses may also qualify for free prescribed medicines and medicines regardless of their medical card status under the Long Term Illness Scheme – see later.

Medical Card & GP Visit Card Guidelines

The income guidelines by which medical card and GP Visit Card eligibility are assessed are as follows.

For most other people, eligibility for a full medical card or a GP Visit card is means-tested, based on disposable income (gross income, less tax and PRSI). Certain outgoings – including rent or mortgage, childcare costs and travel costs to work are also taken into account under the assessment process.

Medical Card

The weekly income limits for medical cards are as follows.

You need to be earning less than the amount shown below to qualify:

Single Person living alone (up to 65 years) – €184.00.

Single person living alone (66-69 years) – €201.50.

Single Person living with family (up to 65 years) – €164.00.

Single Person living with family (66-69 years) – €173.50.

Married Couple / Single Parent Families with dependent children (up to 65 years) – €266.50.

Married Couple / Single Parent Families with dependent children (66-69 years) –  €298.00.

Married Couple (70-79 years – where one person is 70 years or over and the other has not yet reached 70) – €596.00.

Married Couple (80 years and over – where one person is 80 years or over and the other has not yet reached 70) – €627.00.

Additional Allowances for Dependent Children:

For first 2 children under 16 years – €38.00.

For 3rd and subsequent children under 16 years – €41.00.

For first 2 children over 16 years – €39.00.

For 3rd and subsequent children over 16 years – €42.50.

For a dependant over 16 years who is in full time third level education and not grant aided – €78.00.

Additional allowances are made for reasonable rent/mortgage, childcare and travel costs.

For example a married couple (under 65 years of age) with four dependant children, one over 16 years of age and three under 16 years of age would be entitled to a medical card if they earned less than:

€266.50 + €39.00 + €38.00 + €38.00 + €41.00 = €422.50 per week

GP Visit Card

The weekly income limits for GP Visit Cards are as follows.

You need to be earning less than the amount shown below to qualify:

Single Person living alone (up to 65 years) – €276.00.

Single person living alone (66-69 years) – €302.00.

Single Person living with family (up to 65 years) – €246.00.

Single Person living with family (66-69 years) – €260.50.

Married Couple / Single Parent Families with dependent children (up to 65 years) – €400.00.

Married Couple / Single Parent Families with dependent children (66-69 years) – €447.00.

Married Couple (70-79 years – where one person is 70 years or over and the other has not yet reached 70) – €895.00.

Married Couple (80 years and over – where one person is 80 years or over and the other has not yet reached 70) – €940.50.

Additional Allowances for Dependent Children:

For first 2 children under 16 years – €57.00.

For 3rd and subsequent children under 16 years – €61.50.

For first 2 children over 16 years – €58.50.

For 3rd and subsequent children over 16 years – €64.00.

For a dependant over 16 years who is in full time third level education and not grant aided – €117.00.

Additional allowances are made for reasonable rent or mortgage, childcare and travel costs.

For example a married couple (under 65 years of age) with four dependant children, one over 16 years of age and three under 16 years of age would be entitled to a medical card if they earned less than:

€400.00 + €58.50 + €57.00 + €57.00 + €61.50 = €634.00 per week

Certain other individuals may also qualify for a Medical/GP Visit card, including those persons whose assessable income is in excess of the guidelines, but where financial hardship would arise because of medical costs or other exceptional circumstances.

 Drug Payment Scheme

The Drugs Payment Scheme allows persons and families who do not hold medical cards to limit the amount they have to spend on prescribed medicines. Under the Drugs Payment Scheme, no person or family will have to pay more than €120 in any calendar month for approved prescribed drugs, medicines and appliances.

Family expenditure covers an adult, their partner and children under 18 years. Dependants aged 18–23 years who are in full-time education may also be included. A dependant with a physical or mental disability or illness who cannot look after themselves fully, who lives in the family home and who does not hold a current medical card, may also be included in the family expenditure under this scheme regardless of age.

Everyone is eligible to apply for the Drugs Payment Scheme as long as they do not hold a current medical card. It is important to know that you can use the Drug Payment Scheme in conjunction with a Long Term Illness Book.

How to apply

Application forms for the Drugs Payment Scheme can be obtained from us at Weedle Pharmacy, Mallow. Families should be registered by an adult family member. The completed form should then be returned to  the HSE or to Weedle Pharmacy where we can check the form for you and submit it on your behalf to the HSE.

Once the registration form has been processed, each person named on the form will receive a plastic swipe card, which they must present when having prescriptions filled at Weedle Pharmacy.

Long-Term Illness Scheme

The Long-Term Illness Scheme allows persons with certain conditions, who are not already medical card holders, to obtain the medicines and medical and surgical appliances they require for the treatment of their condition, without charge. It is important to note that no means test is involved.

The conditions included in this scheme are:

Mental disability.

Mental illness (up to age 16 only).

Diabetes insipidus.

Diabetes mellitus.

Haemophilia.

Cerebral palsy.

Phenylketonuria.

Epilepsy.

Cystic fibrosis.

Multiple sclerosis.

Spina bifida.

Muscular dystrophy.

Hydrocephalus.

Parkinsonism.

Acute leukaemia.

Conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide.

It should be noted, however, that a number of conditions that people often presume will be included in this scheme, such as asthma and Crohn's disease, are not, despite the fact that for the majority of people, these are long-term conditions.

Once a person is deemed eligible for this scheme, he or she is issued with a long-term illness book. This lists all the medicines for the treatment of the particular condition, which will be provided to them free of charge through Weedle Pharmacy.

Anybody who suffers from any of the conditions listed above and who wishes to avail of the scheme, can obtain an application form from the HSE

Individuals who are not medical card holders and who are not covered by the Long Term Illness Scheme, can avail of the Drugs Payment Scheme, which ensures no individual or family has to pay more than €120 for prescribed drugs and appliances in any one calendar month, see earlier.

Tax relief on medical and dental bills

Falling sick is a taxing enough experience without having it cost you too much money as well. Many people do not realise that most medical expenses qualify for tax relief and that each year they can reclaim some of the money they pay the doctor, hospital, dentist or pharmacist from the Revenue Commissioners.

You can claim tax relief on medical expenses incurred by yourself, your spouse, dependent children or dependent relatives, as long as you have not already been reimbursed, or are entitled to be reimbursed, for the costs by a health board or a medical insurer, such as the VHI, Aviva, Quinn Healthcare.

An individual must bear the first €125 of the final bill while a family must bear the first €250. The balance is then repaid to you at your highest rate of tax.

The forms you need are Med 1 and Med 2, which are available from us at Weedle Pharmacy.

When making your claim for tax relief on medical and dental expenses, you must retain receipts, so it is worthwhile to get into the habit of asking for receipts every time you or your family attend your doctor, dentist or hospital, or purchase medicines.

You do not need to include these receipts with your tax claim, but you might be asked to produce them if the Revenue Commissioners choose your claim for detailed examination. It is possible to choose whether to claim the relief in the year that medical expenses were incurred or in the year in which they were paid, if they happen to be different.

You can claim tax relief for a range of medical and dental expenses including:

The cost of visits to doctors or consultants.

Hospital treatment.

Orthoptic treatment.

Maintenance in an approved nursing home.

Transport by ambulance.

Kidney patient treatment, such as hospital dialysis, home dialysis or CAPD.

The cost of prescribed medicines.

The cost of diagnostic procedures.

Hearing aids.

Orthopaedic beds and chairs.

Wheelchairs and wheelchair lifts (though no relief is available for adapting a home or premises to accommodate a lift).

Glucometer machines (for diabetics).

Physiotherapy.

Dental crowns, veneers, gold posts, gold inlays, root canal treatment, periodontal treatment, orthodontic treatment, wisdom tooth extraction and bridgework.

Severely handicapped people who require a computer to communicate can claim back the cost of the computer.

Patients who suffer from Coeliac disease who require gluten-free food can claim back the expense of that food. At Weedle Pharmacy we can maintain an account of these for you so that you can claim back from the Revenue Commissioners, provided you have a letter from your GP confirming that you suffer from Coeliac disease.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has been of use to you. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact any of the pharmacists in Weedle Pharmacy who can discuss your individual situation with you and guide you as to how you can keep your medical and medicines bills to a minimum.

Please do not hesitate to contact us, we would be delighted to help. Ask our pharmacists, you’ll be taking good advice.