Medical Cards - Dental Care?

Ruby_Woo

Does anyone know what the current situation is for Medical Card holders regarding dental treatment?

I'm after chipping a tooth and after ringing around a few dentists to get an appointment I was told that as of today (Yes, just my luck!) that medical cards will no longer cover any dental treatment - it appears that dentists received a letter to this effect today from the HSE..

Does anyone have any further info on this?

Thanks

Xiney

I read something in the indo to that effect a couple months back.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/dentists-told-take-cheaper-option-and-pull-more-teeth-2108840.html

itsonlywords

Ruby_Woo wrote: »

Does anyone know what the current situation is for Medical Card holders regarding dental treatment?

I'm after chipping a tooth and after ringing around a few dentists to get an appointment I was told that as of today (Yes, just my luck!) that medical cards will no longer cover any dental treatment - it appears that dentists received a letter to this effect today from the HSE..

Does anyone have any further info on this?

Thanks

Yes it is true. I called my dentist today and he verified it. Emergencies only. No dentures, fillings, cleaning etc. Harneys attitude you are proleterian and so beg. Harney should change her name to Marie Antoinette of "Let them eat cake"
Bet she stays as fat as ever with her huge salary and her husbands who was boss of Fás once. Bet her hairdo's are not reduced. God I hate that lot. Time for a new party to throw this mob in the river. The cops will get what they demand as will all the public service but the poor and vunerable will still be s**t on.Next budget will see poor further "punished". Time to rise up people.

itsonlywords

Ruby_Woo wrote: »

Does anyone know what the current situation is for Medical Card holders regarding dental treatment?

I'm after chipping a tooth and after ringing around a few dentists to get an appointment I was told that as of today (Yes, just my luck!) that medical cards will no longer cover any dental treatment - it appears that dentists received a letter to this effect today from the HSE..

Does anyone have any further info on this?

Thanks

http://www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/holders-of-medical-card-wont--get-routine-dental-care-2158977.html

vampire of kilmainham

itsonlywords wrote: »

Yes it is true. I called my dentist today and he verified it. Emergencies only. No dentures, fillings, cleaning etc. Harneys attitude you are proleterian and so beg. Harney should change her name to Marie Antoinette of "Let them eat cake"
Bet she stays as fat as ever with her huge salary and her husbands who was boss of Fás once. Bet her hairdo's are not reduced. God I hate that lot. Time for a new party to throw this mob in the river. The cops will get what they demand as will all the public service but the poor and vunerable will still be s**t on.Next budget will see poor further "punished". Time to rise up people.

i totally aggree with you the goverment are a right shower of fat cats who dont give a dam about any of us they are on a different wavelength to us ordinary folk it's allways been the same as for voting them out and bringing in any other govermant well as far as iam conserned they are all the same iv seen other goverments performances in past yrs and found they werent any better power and big saleries is all they are after.

caramel0

This is a joke. I believed this country to have a democratic approach, which means its people have to be consulted, but no. They tell us what to do and not the other way around.
Well now they will get their emergencies, people who cannot pay for their dental care, like myself, will wait till their teeth fall out and then they will get the care for free.
Minister for health, she is a f**king picture of unhealth and the only one she cares for is her fat ass. This woman does not care for anyone's health. Her days in the government are numbered.

itsonlywords

caramel0 wrote: »

This is a joke. I believed this country to have a democratic approach, which means its people have to be consulted, but no. They tell us what to do and not the other way around.
Well now they will get their emergencies, people who cannot pay for their dental care, like myself, will wait till their teeth fall out and then they will get the care for free.
Minister for health, she is a f**king picture of unhealth and the only one she cares for is her fat ass. This woman does not care for anyone's health. Her days in the government are numbered.

Well fat arse Harney has history. Her now husband was appointed as the DG of Fás and how much he made from it we will never know. How many haircuts did he authorise for her during his term there? She has no party now as the PD's are disbanded as the people spoke and rejected them as ultra right wing. Prepare yourselves for what comes next. Medical cards will be restricted further, prescription charges will raise to 2 or 3 Euros per item, numnber of visits to doctors limited. That woman and FF are anti working class and people who are unfortunate enough to have lost their jobs because of FF corruption.They cost us our jobs and now it is double whammy when they further cut our benefits that we paid for for many years. Only 2 partys' now who care for ordinary people and that seems to be Labour and SF. Waiting to see FF arrive at my door for next local election to replace Cullen the waster, or the general election. Hope they are wearing their armour as I will not be responsible for what I do to the crooks

CreamCrackers

The last time I went to the dentist I went to the orthodontic unit in the Louth County Hospital. I want to book an appointment but Im not sure what my dentist's name is (its been a while) or if the unit is still open because of the current closing of the hospital. I also dont know what number to call if it is still open. If its not do I just book an appointment with another clinic? How does changing dentists work? Any advice is greatly appreciated as always!

coco200066

Wow that sucks...I just got my medical card and I desperately need to get some work done!

If anyone hears any updates on this please post.

mary55

Hey I went to the dentist yesterday and I got a filling done without any charge as I have a medical card and it wasn't an emergency situation. I say ring around a few more dentists.

gustafo

mary55 wrote: »

Hey I went to the dentist yesterday and I got a filling done without any charge as I have a medical card and it wasn't an emergency situation. I say ring around a few more dentists.

Hey and i also went lastweek for a cleaning and i wasn't charged but saying that the appointment was booked with 6 months since my last cleaning, so maybe they left me off seeing that it was booked before the changes came in

mp3ireland2

I went last week, got 2 fillings for free... just booked it the day before. Had to pay for a cleaning and have to pay for my next two fillings..... She said I only get two free a year.... Hang on just thinking if I went to a different dentist could I get another two free? or whats the story does anybody know?

davo10

mp3 I'm afraid its not as simple as that. When you visit a dentist and present your med card number, the receptionist always contacts the local HB office to confirm eligibility, name and address, also approval must now be sought from the HSE. If you have fillings in one clinic then go to another and do not inform them, the dentist will be notified on his payment schedule the following month that you were not entitled to have more fillings done as another dentist has already been paid for 2.
Now 2 things will happen, the HB who provided the card to you will be informed and this may have consequences regarding your med card, and secondly the dentist will be pissed off and will without a shadow of a doubt follow you via debt collectors/small claims.
If you want to do something about this, write to your TD and inform him of your situation and the effect their cost cutting is having on your health. In case you think this is just an issue with high street dentists, the HSE has imposed the same cuts on their own Health Board dentists who work with kids, imagine that, a child/elderly/sick person needs 4 fillings, the parent brings him/her to a health board dentist and is told they can only do 2 this year and 2 more next year.

mp3ireland2

davo10 wrote: »

mp3 I'm afraid its not as simple as that. When you visit a dentist and present your med card number, the receptionist always contacts the local HB office to confirm eligibility, name and address, also approval must now be sought from the HSE. If you have fillings in one clinic then go to another and do not inform them, the dentist will be notified on his payment schedule the following month that you were not entitled to have more fillings done as another dentist has already been paid for 2.
Now 2 things will happen, the HB who provided the card to you will be informed and this may have consequences regarding your med card, and secondly the dentist will be pissed off and will without a shadow of a doubt follow you via debt collectors/small claims.
If you want to do something about this, write to your TD and inform him of your situation and the effect their cost cutting is having on your health. In case you think this is just an issue with high street dentists, the HSE has imposed the same cuts on their own Health Board dentists who work with kids, imagine that, a child/elderly/sick person needs 4 fillings, the parent brings him/her to a health board dentist and is told they can only do 2 this year and 2 more next year.

Yeah i figured it wasn't that simple so didn't even try! Was jus checking that the 2 fillings thing is standard!

I bit the bullet today (if u pardon the pun) and paid the €120 for the two fillings! Least I didn't need too much done! Although I also paid for a cleaning last week? Did these used to be on the medical card?
I'm new to the medical card myself so was really just checking what the story was!

davo10

It used to cover all treatments which the HSE considered "essential" ie amalgam fills on back teeth, white fillings on front, extractions, dentures, root canal on front teeth etc, it did not cover "cosmetic" treatments like whitening, veneers, crowns, implants etc. The removal of the scheme is idiotic as the people who may need treatment most now have no access to it either with high street dentists nor with the HSE's own dentists.

mary55

Hey just went dentist last week and this week and got 2 fillings havent be charged anything so far as I have medical card. They were 2 white front teeth fillings. Just been reading other posts and from what I can gather does this mean I will have to pay from here on as I can just get 2 fillings a year on the medical card?

Also I thought there was an injuction brought against the HSE preventing them putting these changes through? according to
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0616/dentists.html. Does this mean the changes have not been implemented yet ? Very confused.

davo10

mary I'm not sure what effect latest developments have had on the scheme but according to todays paper Mary Harney told a represenative from the HSE's own public dentist association to go jump, she was not for turning so just contact your dental clinic in advance of future treatment to find out what your status is.

Tedious Bore

I reckon I go see the dentist every 3 to 4 years maybe, and all i ever get is a checkup and he ends up giving my teeth a good clean, - drilling plaque off I think.

so, is a standard checkup still free on the medical card?

tenchi-fan

Guys, stop slamming the government.

Ultimately this will drive down the cost of dental care.
I know it will be difficult for some, but a lot of welfare recipients have a good bit of discretionary income.

tommy21

tenchi-fan wrote: »

a lot of welfare recipients have a good bit of discretionary income.

Back this up please.

tenchi-fan

tommy21 wrote: »

Back this up please.

do you want me to start naming people?

tommy21

tenchi-fan wrote: »

do you want me to start naming people?

Nope just want to know what your basing your statement on - that a lot of people on social welfare have money to spare?

davo10

tenchi, I think you missed the forest for the trees there, over 1.6 million people had their right to free dental treatment removed, if they could afford to pay for dental treatment they would not need a medical card. As for treatment going down in cost, med card treatments were poorly paid for by HSE, the cut in the PRSI scheme had a far greater effect on dental clinics, incidently with that scheme 2 million people lost out on dental benefits which they were already paying for in their monthly PRSI contributions. Stand back a bit and see the bigger picture.

mary55

went to dentist 3 weeks in a row now havent gotton 3 fillings. am on medical card if anyone is interested.

tomo536

I came down with shingles few weeks ago,went to the doctor cost 55 euro to see her.I was put on anti viral tablets for one week they cost 98 euro for seven tablets.Went back week later was put on two other tablets which cost over 200 euro was first of month so cud not claim anythig of the 98 euro had to pay 120 euro for them plus 30 to see the doctor and 10 euro for doctors note for work,and am on flat weeks wages in work ,so struggling to pay morgage and bills.So much for health service.Also every one seems to be taking wage cuts except for doctors,dentists,and chemists for price of medication.(EXCEPT FOR DRUGS PAYMENT SCHEME)

tomo536

vampire of kilmainham wrote: »

i totally aggree with you the goverment are a right shower of fat cats who dont give a dam about any of us they are on a different wavelength to us ordinary folk it's allways been the same as for voting them out and bringing in any other govermant well as far as iam conserned they are all the same iv seen other goverments performances in past yrs and found they werent any better power and big saleries is all they are after.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY WE PAY PRSI CAUSE WE DONT SEEM TO GET ANYTHING FOR IT

tomo536

davo10 wrote: »

tenchi, I think you missed the forest for the trees there, over 1.6 million people had their right to free dental treatment removed, if they could afford to pay for dental treatment they would not need a medical card. As for treatment going down in cost, med card treatments were poorly paid for by HSE, the cut in the PRSI scheme had a far greater effect on dental clinics, incidently with that scheme 2 million people lost out on dental benefits which they were already paying for in their monthly PRSI contributions. Stand back a bit and see the bigger picture.

JUST WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR PAYING PRSI

Thoie

davo10 wrote: »

tenchi, I think you missed the forest for the trees there, over 1.6 million people had their right to free dental treatment removed, if they could afford to pay for dental treatment they would not need a medical card.

That's not entirely accurate. There are a variety of schemes that entitle people to medical cards without the normal means testing.

I would suspect that the majority of medical card holders do fit your criteria, but certainly not all.

Thoie

tomo536 wrote: »

JUST WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR PAYING PRSI

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/irish-social-welfare-system/social-insurance-prsi/social_insurance_in_ireland/#howtoapply

davo10

Thoie I accept there are many reasons why people may be entitled to a medical card.
Tomo, not much and in future a whole lot less, it is now a tax in all but name.

dudara

tomo536 wrote: »

JUST WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR PAYING PRSI

tomo536 - please refrain from using all capitals in your replies, it is the online equivalent of SHOUTING. Also, please try to make useful contributions to the forum.

dudara