no Medical card card for 20yr old on Josb seekers.

kabakuyu

My 20 yr old daughter had been refused a medical card even though she receives only E100 weekly Jobseekers allowance.She lives at home with her parents who have a combined income of approx 25000 per year (self employed)After a frustrating 20 mins on the phone I got nowhere except the standard response which was also set out in the letter of refusal,and I quote"a 16-25 yr old will be considered for MC/GPVC if he/she is
"Financially Independent, with means that are within the Medical Card/GP Visit Card guidelines. For a person to be considered financially independent she/he must be in receipt of income equivalent to or greater than the current standard rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). "

She was refused on the grounds she was not financially independent,but if she was 25 and in receipt of the full allowance of 186E she would be eligible for the MC.
This anomaly seems to only apply to people in the the 18-21 age group who are on reduced Jobseekers allowance.
I need advice,am I reading this correctly.

Balagan

Since they introduced age reduced payments there is no such thing anymore as the 'current standard rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance" Each payment is referred to as the Maximum Personal Rate taking age into account.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance from 3 January 2011
Rate per Week
Maximum Personal Rate Aged 25 or over €186.00
- Increase for a Qualified Adult €124.80
- Increase for a Qualified Child €29.80
Maximum personal rate where claimant is aged under 22 years €100.00
- Increase for a Qualified Adult €100.00
Maximum personal rate where claimant is ages 22 to 24 years inclusive €144.00
- Increase for Qualified Adult €124.80
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/sw19/Pages/sw19_sect9.aspx

You should appeal the HSE decision http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/ysys/Appeals/Appeals_Process/
and, although I know it's not their job, if you can find a politician back from their holidays they might make a representation on your daughter's behalf.

kabakuyu

Thanks for the reply, it makes it a bit clearer,but it looks to me that my daughter would have to wait until 25 to get a MC,if she is receiving benefits.Surely these guidelines are discriminating against welfare recipients in the 18-25 age group who and I qoute the HSE "must be in receipt of income equivalent to or greater than the current standard rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). "
They must be in receipt of a payment that no longer exists for them an is now defined as the "Maximum Personal Rate taking age into account"
I truly despair for the future of this country.

It now seems that all appeals and decisions have been taken away from local CWO's, the decisions are now made at a centralised HSE office in Finglas.

esprimo

kabakuyu wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, it makes it a bit clearer,but it looks to me that my daughter would have to wait until 25 to get a MC,if she is receiving benefits.Surely these guidelines are discriminating against welfare recipients in the 18-25 age group who and I qoute the HSE "must be in receipt of income equivalent to or greater than the current standard rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). "
They must be in receipt of a payment that no longer exists for them an is now defined as the "Maximum Personal Rate taking age into account"
I truly despair for the future of this country.

It now seems that all appeals and decisions have been taken away from local CWO's, the decisions are now made at a centralised HSE office in Finglas.

hey kabakuyu, I'm in a quite similar situation to your daughter. Im 22 and was refused a Medical card based on the fact that my income isn't 184 euro or more. Im completely independant ,living alone.This is absolutely outrageous as surely people who are 18-25 who are getting less money per week and are more dis-advantaged financially than people 25 or over deserve a medical card more?! Your right these guidelines are discriminating against the 18-25 age group!
It basically means people who have a HIGHER income on social welfare because of their AGE are entitled more to a medical card which provides an additional benefit and money saver to them, as opposed to a person who is recieving 40-88 euro less because they are YOUNGER and now have to inccur the additional expense of medical fees with less money in their pocket. Where on earth is the logic behind this?
Let us know how the appeal went, I intend to do the same.:)

kabakuyu

esprimo wrote: »

hey kabakuyu, I'm in a quite similar situation to your daughter. Im 22 and was refused a Medical card based on the fact that my income isn't 184 euro or more. Im completely independant ,living alone.This is absolutely outrageous as surely people who are 18-25 who are getting less money per week and are more dis-advantaged financially than people 25 or over deserve a medical card more?! Your right these guidelines are discriminating against the 18-25 age group!
It basically means people who have a HIGHER income on social welfare because of their AGE are entitled more to a medical card which provides an additional benefit and money saver to them, as opposed to a person who is recieving 40-88 euro less because they are YOUNGER and now have to inccur the additional expense of medical fees with less money in their pocket. Where on earth is the logic behind this?
Let us know how the appeal went, I intend to do the same.:)

No problem, at the moment I am having difficulty submitting my appeal as no one will answer or return my calls to HSE offices and the refusal letter said I should contact the appeals office for the Eastern region even though I am in the west.I have made an appointment to see my local TD(Fine Gael one) who may be able to shed some light on this and may be able to explain the anomaly or tell me if this is now goverment policy,.It looks like discrimination to me.I will keep you up to date.

ShaShaBear

Please don't take this the wrong way, but is there a chance that she was actually refused based on your earnings? I don't know the income limits, but I was under the impression that if you live at home, your parent's earnings would be taken into account regardless. If 25000 per year is in excess of the limit, there is a good chance that this is why your daughter was refused a medical card, and possibly they mean that she would need to be in receipt of the full dole amount at the age of 25 for your earnings to no longer count in her application?

I have a medical card, but my original application was based on my mother's earnings alone, which was simply One Parent for three kids.

kabakuyu

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Please don't take this the wrong way, but is there a chance that she was actually refused based on your earnings? I don't know the income limits, but I was under the impression that if you live at home, your parent's earnings would be taken into account regardless. If 25000 per year is in excess of the limit, there is a good chance that this is why your daughter was refused a medical card, and possibly they mean that she would need to be in receipt of the full dole amount at the age of 25 for your earnings to no longer count in her application?

I have a medical card, but my original application was based on my mother's earnings alone, which was simply One Parent for three kids.

I don't think think that is the case,as they did not request proof of my earnings or outgoings, mine or my wife's means were not considered.The application was made by my daughter in her own right.BTW I dont have a MC or GP visit card but I am now going to see if I qualify for thr GP card.

ShaShaBear

I really don't know then.. Anyone I've ever known to apply for one living at home had to put the household earnings on it. A friend of mine recently got rejected applying from home and she had to put her mother's earnings on it even though she supports herself.

kabakuyu

Thanks, what you say makes sense and I recall that was the procedure, but there was no mention of parents earnings on the application form my daughter filled out.It also does'nt explain esprimo's experiences with the MC refusal even though he/she lives alone.

babsybaby01

kabakuyu wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, it makes it a bit clearer,but it looks to me that my daughter would have to wait until 25 to get a MC,if she is receiving benefits.Surely these guidelines are discriminating against welfare recipients in the 18-25 age group who and I qoute the HSE "must be in receipt of income equivalent to or greater than the current standard rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). "
They must be in receipt of a payment that no longer exists for them an is now defined as the "Maximum Personal Rate taking age into account"
I truly despair for the future of this country.

It now seems that all appeals and decisions have been taken away from local CWO's, the decisions are now made at a centralised HSE office in Finglas.

The Cwo is now under the social dept not the hse....The days of giving medical cards to every unemployed person is over...In your daughters application form there are questions asked about where she lives and who with and so on and it's from there that the card was turned down...And one person in your household is self employed and the other is not working then the chances of getting anything at all are slim because you have not made relevant contributions to be entitled to anything from social welfare...

kabakuyu

babsybaby01 wrote: »

The Cwo is now under the social dept not the hse....The days of giving medical cards to every unemployed person is over...In your daughters application form there are questions asked about where she lives and who with and so on and it's from there that the card was turned down...And one person in your household is self employed and the other is not working then the chances of getting anything at all are slim because you have not made relevant contributions to be entitled to anything from social welfare...

I did'nt know you had to make contributions to get a MC,what about the unemployed who never worked but have a MC, if I was totally destitiute would I not receive a MC? surely contributions would not come into it.It also does not explain Esprimos experiences outlined in the post above.
Regards,
KK.