What can you use medical card for?

Dan82

I know you can use medical card for doctors visits and medication but what else can you use it for?

Thanks for your help

RobFowl

Citizensinformation.ie is a very good resource for this type of query.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/entitlement_to_health_services/medical_card.html

What health services are normally covered?

If you have a medical card, you are entitled to:

• Free GP (family doctor) services
• Prescribed drugs and medicines (with some exceptions). See section on prescription charges.
• In-patient public hospital services, out-patient services and medical appliances
• Dental, optical and aural services
• Maternity and infant care services
• Some personal and social care services, for example, public health nursing, social work services and other community care services
• A maternity cash grant of €10.16 on the birth of each child.

locum-motion

You can also use it:

To open certain types of locks if the door doesn't fit the frame.
As a ruler to draw straight lines about 3 inches long.
To remove dirt from under your fingernails.
For flicking small spitwads.

etc etc etc

RobFowl

locum-motion wrote: »

As a ruler to draw straight lines about 3 inches long.

locum-motion

RobFowl wrote: »

I managed to resist saying "For cutting lines of coke"

Radiotower

If you have a medical card you don't have to pay the 7% USC but you have to tell your employer that you have a medical card.

locum-motion

Radiotower wrote: »

If you have a medical card you don't have to pay the 7% USC but you have to tell your employer that you have a medical card.

Wow, that's good to know! (Or it would be, if I had a medical card.)
Mind you, I suppose I can score some brownie points with patients by letting them know.

Ayla

There are other non-medical benefits through the medical card. A couple I can think of off the top of my head are:

1) Waiver of school bus fees
2) Access to a voucher to have your dog spayed/neutered

January

I'm not sure if this is still going but if you had a medical card then you didn't have to pay your exams fee's for Junior or Leaving Certificate.

echo beach

January wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is still going but if you had a medical card then you didn't have to pay your exams fee's for Junior or Leaving Certificate.

Yes, that is still the case, or it was for the 2012 exams.

Instead of conducting a proper means test for this and other benefits (like free school transport and subsidy for school books) the medical card is used as a sort of 'shorthand'. If you have a medical card you must be deprived enough to deserve this. No mention of others who don't qualify for a medical card but still have difficulty paying these bills. It amounts to several hundred euro a year out of after tax income for a family with school going children and is a major disincentive to taking up employment that might result in the loss of the medical card.

Ayla

echo beach wrote: »

... It amounts to several hundred euro a year out of after tax income for a family with school going children and is a major disincentive to taking up employment that might result in the loss of the medical card.

As yes, I was awaiting the off-topic "disincentive to proper employment" rant. Figured it'd be impossible for everyone to only answer the question. :rolleyes:

echo beach

Ayla wrote: »

As yes, I was awaiting the off-topic "disincentive to proper employment" rant. Figured it'd be impossible for everyone to only answer the question. :rolleyes:

It wasn't a rant, just a statement of fact. This is how people get caught in a 'poverty trap'.
A medical card should be just that, for medical expenses.
If and when we have a single tier health system how will they decide who doesn't have to pay exam fees?

RobFowl

Keep it on topic please