Abolition of Automatic Medical Card Creating Four Tier Health Service for Our Elederly People
Issued : Friday 17 October, 2008
Labour Party representative, Cllr. Brendan Leahy has described as a shocking disgrace that the Government is looking to our old age pensioners to make €100m savings on the health budget with the abolition of the automatic entitlement of the over 70s to medical cards. For a long time we have had a two-tier health service, this decision will effectively give our pensioner a four-tier health system. Some will have medical cards, others will have GP cards, and some will receive the €400 grant while others will have nothing at all.
There is genuine fear, anger and utter confusion among retired people over the treatment that has been meted out to them by the Govt in this week's budget. I am calling on the Government to completely and without delay withdraw this scheme.
The re-introduction of the means-test for medical cards for over-70's has to go down as one of the most cynical political stunts we have seen in quite some time, having been removed a year before one election, only to be re-introduced a year after another one.
The plan to give a pay-out of €400 to over-70s who don't qualify for a medical card, but whose weekly income is less than €650, is nothing more than a gimmick, and an insulting one at that. Elderly people who have served this country so well, who did so much to create our economic wealth, deserve better than this from the Fianna Fail/Green Government."
ENDS
Cllr 
