HSE’s ‘treatment abroad’ bill soars
Demand for scheme rises 500% in just two years
DEMAND for State-funded treatment abroad under a little-known EU directive has shot up more than 500% in just two years, the Irish Daily Mail can reveal.
And the costs involved with the Cross Border Directive on Healthcare have gone up by more than 1,000%.
The HSE previously warned that the scheme could have serious implications for its budget.
That was in 2015, when just 150 people were paid back for treatment on the CBD and it had to reimburse them some €542,106.
But according to figures released to the Mail, 1,025 people were repaid for CBD last year and 901 have been reimbursed this year, up until October.
That number is only set to rise as more than 100 patients a day see their life-enhancing hospital procedures called off due to chaos in the health service.
Some 3,400 elective procedures are cancelled every month, as a record 686,997 people languish on some form of waiting list, it has emerged.
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock, who has helped 20 patients get on the CBD scheme, said: ‘Obviously my first preference would be to have people treated in Irish hospitals. People shouldn’t have to endure such long waits for basic treatments. We need to improve waiting list times but this scheme is something I recommend to constituents as it allows them to get good treatment quickly.’
Stephen McMahon, of the Irish Patients’ Association, said: ‘I’m pleased to see a local TD was able to guide a patient to have their rights fulfilled.’
The number of people being reimbursed this year under the CBD is expected to far surpass the figure for 2016. And already, the amount of money paid has more than doubled what the HSE handed over last year. In 2016, it repaid patients a total of €1,447,698, while it has handed out €3,210,797 this year so far.’
HSE chiefs noted in internal documents that CBD, which allows Irish citizens with GP referral letters to get treatment in another EU country and be reimbursed by the HSE, is a ‘high-level risk’ for the agency. Of CBD, HSE chiefs warned: ‘There are implications for the health services who have committed to a level of activity in their service plan and who may be required to pay for out-of-state provision from their budgets.’
Attention around the case of John Patrick Harrington, 90, who had to endure a 1,000km round trip from Cork to Belfast in order to get treatment to stop him going blind, has led to increased interest in and awareness of CBD. His case was first highlighted in the Mail two weeks ago.