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THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH has no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the Long Term Illness Scheme, despite several chronic conditions not being included in the programme.
People who avail of the Long Term Illness Scheme can avail of drugs, medicines and medical and surgical appliances without charge. It was introduced in 1971, under the Health Act 1970 – arising from a non-statutory scheme established a few years earlier to supply free products to people being treated for diabetes.
The scheme is open to people suffering “a prescribed disease or disability of a permanent or long-term nature”, and recognises the following conditions:
However, the scheme has not be updated since 1975, a spokesperson for the Department told TheJournal.ie. Among the conditions not recognised are Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, ulcerative colitis and coronary heart disease – all of which have seen notable rate increases in the past number of decades.
In 2009, a group of young people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease published a patient manifesto, calling for greater public awareness of their condition and demanding that it be included in the Long Term Illness scheme. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis – chronic auto-immune illnesses that affect an estimated 15,000 people in Ireland, and for which there is no known cause or cure.
Both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have similar symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever, loss of appetite and weight loss. Suffers face the prospect of surgery or a life-long colostomy bag if their colon becomes too inflamed.
The manifesto demanded that IBD be recognised for the scheme in reflection of the fact that “both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are life-long conditions” and to “help relieve the financial burden on patients”.
Earlier this month, Minister for State Roisin Shorthall announced that the 56,000 people registered under of the scheme would be eligible for free GP care from March 2012, RTÉ reports.
A spokesperson for the Department said that, while there were no plans to extend the list of conditions recognised under the programme, the terms of the scheme “will be reviewed in the context of the Government’s proposals for Universal Health Insurance and free GP care at the point of delivery”.
He added the scheme “pre-dated universal coverage against excessive drug costs” and that it had been “set up to provide protection for conditions considered at that time to be likely to have excessive drug costs, as there was very little other State support or protection against excessive medical costs”.
Currently, the Drugs Payment Scheme is open to non-medical card holders: under this scheme, no individual or family unit pays more than €120 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines.
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There is no country in the Western world where current expenditure has increased so dramatically, with so little to show for it.
The author rightfully draws attention to the surge Corporate tax, but income tax takes have exploded too.
In real terms (rather than nominal), Irish workers are still paying the same rate of taxation imposed by the Troika in 2011.
One of the reasons why everyone who works in Ireland feels so poor, is that savage tax burden imposed still rests on ordinary workers shoulders today. Yesterday’s budget did nothing to change that.
@Brian Meagher: Well said!!! It’s criminal!
@Brian Meagher: Spoken like someone who never worked in another western country! Hahaha pathetic rambling.
@Alex: spoken like someone who works in the public sector
@sean weir: correct
They are playing tricks. Throw cash around before an election and then spend the years after the election trying to put out the fire. With FFG, it’s a case of rinse and repeat. I hope people don’t fall for it.
@Aidan Collins: Off to Brussels then to finish off the careers in style, or better still a vulture fund, where their connections are invaluable. Can’t blame them really. It’s Michelin star gravy. You can’t be expected to go back on the normal slop once you taste that.
@Aidan Collins: At this point they are forcing my hand, they are so bad I’m left with no alternative but vote for the so called opposition. Could they possibly be worse? Unfortunately yes but again, FFG leave me no choice but attempt at least to vote them out as some kind of democratic sanction. I don’t see any other reasonable approach to making my vote mean some little thing.
@Aidan Collins: it has been set and done already
With government wasting money on over priced bike shed s this is why in trouble. Yet irish people will vote them in again. I wont make that mistake again anymore
@martin finnegan:
I would sooner pay for an overpriced bike shed,than jump headlong into a tunnel with no idea where I’d end up or who I’d end up with.
While there is still plenty to be done by the government,a heck of a lot of people have been catered for in the Budget.
Immigration needs to be tackled for sure.
@Mary.E.: you ma’am are delusional and it’s people like you that keep voting fffg because you’re afraid of change and that is why the country is in the state it’s in.
@Mary.E.: Immigration?
But not homelessness
Waiting lists,
Lack of law enforcement.
You are some daft yoke
@Mary.E.: yeah it’s them immigrants that wasted all the money on the new children’s hospital.
Have you anything in your head but 5h1Te
The government fought hard to not take the Apple tax and now they are using it to justify their spending. Wasting 10 million fighting to not take the money
@Chris Lane:
They are not using it,and have said they will not .
This Apple tax has to be kept under lock and key and only used with the knowledge,and approval of the Irish citizens.
@Mary.E.: “only use it with the knowledge and approval of its citizens”……. Bah hahaa haha….. Are you for real?!?!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: .
It was given back to Ireland and will have to be spent on things approved by the people.
A fair chunk will have to be kept for future rainy days too.
@Mary.E.: feckwit
@sean weir:
SeN Weird.
@Mary.E.:
Sean Weird.
@Mary.E.: well done Mary
I have never heard that before ,how long did it take you to go from Weir to weird .
That the some total of your intelligence?
Obviously a fully paid up member of FG
Well in fairness they did save the bicycle housing crises at the Oireachtas.
@Louis Jacob: There are 18 bicycles that have their own forever home, live laugh love xoxo
Mr O’Donoghue, the last crisis happened because of a financial bubble, people borrowed beyond their means followed by a construction bubble, too many houses being built and too many mortgages being given. We have the opposite, not enough houses, not nearly the same amount of mortgages and our debts are in a much better position than what it was in 2008.
We are at the mercy of multinational companies because our economy’s size is not really what it shows on paper, that’s our exposure. If anything is to happen, such as Trump winning, the fallback would be slower and probably containable, but not at the same catalyst level as 2008.
@J Ven: It would be much, much worse, as our economy is more dependent on Corporate Tax receipts than we ever where on property. Even the partial departure of the FDI sector would decimate both our income taxes and corp taxes. Those businesses could move their holdings very quickly.
@Brian Meagher: Let’s put a bit of perspective on this, and what I’m about to say is easily verified.
As a country we have a net wealth of 1.2trillion , yes most of that is property 69% the rest is financial instruments like pensions and Etfs and of course the 160bn approximately sitting on banks deposits at terrible rates, our gross national debt is 240bn but in that 22bn is savings, post office etc and last time I looked there was 30bn in cash.
Our outstanding mortgage debt, which most of us have, is just about 100bn . Our banks are fully capitalised and are compliant with Bazel 2 , I think……
I think there’s above a few billion on term loans, car finance, etc .
That’s the overall, and the Central Bank report will verify the above.
@Paul O’Mahoney: Now the other side, we are very dependent on Multinational tax at 30bn approx but they are still here, I’m old enough to remember when Apple came to Cork and nobody thought it would last, add to that Pfizer, Intel , Microsoft Google etc etc and I’m still of the opinion that they will stay but the tax might dry up to an extent.
Don’t forget US companies sending profits home is 60% tax on remittance.
We need to get our house in order , curtail nonsense spending like the bike shed, change the Civil service and make it accountable and just show the citizens that the money isn’t wasted …….
My utopia view, and no it probably won’t ever happen.
These politicians deserve their own special word for st p d!
@Chutes: Sxually transmitted political disease?
@Freda Peeple: I see where you went with that, it’s surprisingly witty, I might have gone with subliminally rather than your choice. The censor won’t let me call these guys out.
Ffg are playing the same old trick, give away with one hand and take with the other and people keep falling for it. We’ve no one to blame but ourselves
Per capita Ireland is one of the most indebted countries in the EU. A quick look at the statistica website will just confirm this. Such a pity these idiots in the finance ministry don’t understand anything about finance. Our country is doomed under FFG/g but it seems the electorate don’t see this.
@Gerry Lamont: Have you looked at our assets? Google central bank net wealth report and enjoy the ride.
Imagine talking about the 2008 crisis while knowing nothing about it and have the economic knowledge of a potato. That’s how you find articles like this.
@Alex: imagine voting back in the same politicians that were asleep at the wheel back in 2008. The potato would know that’s not very smart
have your say