Cabinet to debate end of charges for patients
PLANS to completely abolish hospital in-patient charges from April will be placed before the Cabinet today.
While the €80 charge was scrapped for children last year, it was announced during September’s Budget that the costs would also be binned for adults.
Patients can currently face a charge of €80 per day and these costs have been in place for years. There is an annual cap of a maximum of 10 days or €800.
The abolition of the charges will save adults using public hospitals for inpatient care up to €800 per year.
Mr Donnelly will today seek approval to draft legislation to bring the changes into effect.
CHILDREN
Last year the Government abolished the charges for children under 16. At the time, it was flagged as a cost of living measure.
Government sources said last night this is the latest initiative to make healthcare cheaper for families.
The insider said the coalition has already “delivered potential savings of hundreds of euros a year to some families”.
They also said that the Government has rolled out free contraception to women.
Those under the age of 26 can avail of the scheme, with eligibility set to be extended to all women aged 30 and under later this year.
Elsewhere, Rural Development Minister Heather Humphreys will set out details of the €50million Community Recognition
Fund.
The initiative is being put in place for communities that have welcomed large numbers of refugees from Ukraine and other countries.
The cash has been allocated across all local authorities based on the number of their new arrivals, with funding to be drawn down over 2023 and 2024.