european medical card

nino1

My understanding of the EU medical card is that anyone from an EU country can come to ireland and get their Doctor visits and medication for free (or 50c per item for meds) while Irish people who are just above the threshold for a medical card have to struggle by and in many cases skimp on doctor visits and meds because they cannot afford it.

Can someone clarify if this is the case or have i got the wrong end of the stick?

palmcut

nino1 wrote: »

My understanding of the EU medical card is that anyone from an EU country can come to ireland and get their Doctor visits and medication for free (or 50c per item for meds) while Irish people who are just above the threshold for a medical card have to struggle by and in many cases skimp on doctor visits and meds because they cannot afford it.

Can someone clarify if this is the case or have i got the wrong end of the stick?

You are correct but you are viewing the card in a weird way.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) formerly called e111 is available to all EU citizens.
As an Irish citizen you are entitled to get healthcare through the public system in EU countries,if you become ill or injured whilst on a temporary stay there.

nino1

palmcut wrote: »

You are correct but you are viewing the card in a weird way.

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) formerly called e111 is available to all EU citizens.
As an Irish citizen you are entitled to get healthcare through the public system in EU countries,if you become ill or injured whilst on a temporary stay there.

yes but its being widely abused here. they are only supposed to get medication here for 3 months. some people (a lot of whom are quite wealthy) are getting hundreds of euros worth of drugs monthly (beyond the 3 month period) which is not very fair in my opinion to Irish citizens who have to pay for their medication.

RobFowl

nino1 wrote: »

yes but its being widely abused here. they are only supposed to get medication here for 3 months. some people (a lot of whom are quite wealthy) are getting hundreds of euros worth of drugs monthly (beyond the 3 month period) which is not very fair in my opinion to Irish citizens who have to pay for their medication.

The costs of the the e111 card are paid by the countyr which issues it. Ie if domeome from the UK come here and gets treated the HSE bills the NHS for the cost. This applies to all participating countries.

nino1

RobFowl wrote: »

The costs of the the e111 card are paid by the countyr which issues it. Ie if domeome from the UK come here and gets treated the HSE bills the NHS for the cost. This applies to all participating countries.

oh, did realise that.
But do they still pick up the bill after the 3 months?

If anyone can get an eu card whats stopping people paying the €132 a month going across the border and getting it free?

RobFowl

nino1 wrote: »

oh, did realise that.
But do they still pick up the bill after the 3 months?

If anyone can get an eu card whats stopping people paying the €132 a month going across the border and getting it free?

The EHIC cards ar only supposed to be valid for stays of up to 3 months in another EEA area, After that you/they simply revert to having the entitlements of any other long term resident/taxpayer in the country of residence.
That siad there is a degree of abuse but this is being cracked own on and subject to regular checks and audit.