An Phoblacht probe exposes unfair HSE Medical Card rules

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST LOW-INCOME UNDER-25s | BUDGET CREATED CATCH 22

BY MARK MOLONEY

» BY MARK MOLONEY

AN INVESTIGATION by An Phoblacht and Sinn Féin’s Oireachtas team into a discriminatory practice by the Health Service Executive (HSE) targeting those under 25 years old has put the Government under pressure to back-track on a policy that has been in place since the last Budget.
Last month, I was contacted by two separate individuals, both recent graduates in their early 20s and who were unemployed. They complained that they had been refused Medical Cards because they ‘did not earn enough’.
On further investigation it emerged that the HSE was automatically refusing Medical Cards for people aged under 25 who were on the lower social welfare rate (€144 per week) as they did not meet the minimum criteria as set out in the HSE guidelines. Yet, in contrast, those who were over 25 and living in the exact same circumstances but who received the higher dole rate (€188 per week) were entitled to apply for a Medical Card.
This bizarre situation had been going on since the last Budget when a lower social welfare rate was introduced for those under 25 years of age. The lowering of the rate was not coupled with a lowering of the threshold for application for a Medical Card, so those aged under 25 who were unemployed were caught in a Catch-22 situation: being younger they were not entitled to €188 per week and by not earning at least €188 per week they were not entitled to a Medical Card!
Writing to Junior Minister Roisín Shortall, Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD described the situation as “a policy that clearly, and unfairly, discriminates against the young. A person under 25 is no more able to afford GP visits on less than €188 a week than a person over 25 would be. Many people in that age group do not have family or other supports they can turn to.”
Citing one case, Deputy Ó Caoláin also noted that the HSE’s own rules clearly state that those whose sole income is derived from social welfare are entitled to a Medical Card. “This person’s income is derived solely from Jobseeker’s Allowance. Why then, has she been refused?”
One of those who had initially raised the issue with An Phoblacht, ‘John’, a recent graduate, said that he had asked Deputy Shortall during a constituency clinic about the issue and received a very unsatisfactory response. “She basically blamed it on a miscommunication between the Social Welfare and the HSE but never indicated she was going to take any action to resolve it.”
Just four days after the issue was raised by An Phoblacht and the Sinn Féin Oireachtas team, however, the Government had a change of heart.
While there was initially no response from the junior minister directly to Deputy Ó Caoláin, some of those affected by the ruling who had previously lodged complaints with the relevant department were contacted over the phone by Minister Shortall’s team informing them that the matter had been resolved, and that they were now entitled to apply for a Medical Card.
Speaking to An Phoblacht following the Government U-turn, John said:
“The Minister’s sudden and miraculous ability to solve this problem will prevent due credit being paid to those in Sinn Féin that applied this necessary pressure but the fact is that, that within four days of Sinn Féin getting involved, this situation was completely resolved. That’s no mean feat considering its been a problem since the last Budget!”

Note: At the time of going to print, Junior Minister Roisín Shortall had still not officially responded to Deputy Ó Caoláin’s letter sent on 26th October.