Free GP care for under 5's?

bbsrs

Is it going to happen or not ?

Super-Rush

bbsrs wrote: »

Is it going to happen or not ?

Not.

Reformed Character

bbsrs wrote: »

Is it going to happen or not ?

Hopefully not.

MamaBee92

bbsrs wrote: »

Is it going to happen or not ?

I asked my GP this last week. She said at the moment, its not looking like its going to happen any time soon, but if it does happen we will all be informed of it.

I think it was another case of broken promises from our government. Who's surprised? Unfortunately, no one

Hotfail.com

Waste of money when it's going to all of them..

Roger_007

It won't happen unless the GPs get a truckload of cash to implement it, ( just like they did when the over 70s got medical cards as of right).
GPs make a lot of money on young children of families without medical cards. They are hardly likely to throw away that nice little earner without a big fight and a big payoff.
The GPs, of course, will come up with all sorts of reasons why it is not a good idea until the real issue, (the cash), is sorted to their satisfaction.

fedor.2.

All healthcare should be free

Grayson

MamaBee92 wrote: »

I asked my GP this last week. She said at the moment, its not looking like its going to happen any time soon, but if it does happen we will all be informed of it.

I think it was another case of broken promises from our government. Who's surprised? Unfortunately, no one

I'd be for it but unfortunately unless there's an increase in resources it'll be a mess. You can't throw that out there unless there's enough GP space for it.

Not that i don't think there should be adequate provision for infants, I just don't think we're ready for it.

Gone West

At 52% nominal tax rate, we should have free GP care for everybody.
We are paying Scandanavian standards of tax but get crappy American standards of public services.

Lucas Castroman

Roger_007 wrote: »

It won't happen unless the GPs get a truckload of cash to implement it, ( just like they did when the over 70s got medical cards as of right).
GPs make a lot of money on young children of families without medical cards. They are hardly likely to throw away that nice little earner without a big fight and a big payoff.
The GPs, of course, will come up with all sorts of reasons why it is not a good idea until the real issue, (the cash), is sorted to their satisfaction.

Why shouldn't they get well paid for the service they provide? They're highly trained professionals who are held to a high level of excellence. People don't bat an eyelid shelling out money on a hairdresser.

user2012

It would be great if it did come in but I can see it being abused. They should offer maybe 5 free visits a year & anything after that should be charged. Or even charge a smaller amount for kids under 5.
At the end of the day GP's are trying to run a business so if its not feasible financially for them then they are dead right not to agree to it.

Banjo String

Being charged to see the doctor was very alien to me coming from the north. I'm always sceptical when a doctor tells me to come back next week for another check up.

Ok.... Another 50 quid so.......

If my mechanic thought he fixed my car, but asked me to call back next week again to check it, and charged me twice I'd be right pissed off tbh.

Sierra Oscar

Roger_007 wrote: »

It won't happen unless the GPs get a truckload of cash to implement it, ( just like they did when the over 70s got medical cards as of right).

It won't happen unless the service is properly funded, that is something that all primary carers agree on.

Roger_007 wrote: »

( just like they did when the over 70s got medical cards as of right)

They get €270 for an over 70's medical card holder, which entitles a card holder to attend a GP an unlimited number of times during a year.

Roger_007 wrote: »

GPs make a lot of money on young children of families without medical cards.

Yeah, mainly because private patients are having to subside those who have medical cards. So private patients usually pay more in tax in the first place and then they pay higher fees to attend a GP to subside medical card holders. A lot of private patients are fed up of having to subsidize those who just expect free care to appear out of thin air.

Banjo String wrote: »

Being charged to see the doctor was very alien to me coming from the north. I'm always sceptical when a doctor tells me to come back next week for another check up.

Ok.... Another 50 quid so.......

If my mechanic thought he fixed my car, but asked me to call back next week again to check it, and charged me twice I'd be right pissed off tbh.

Change your GP in the same way that you would change your mechanic if you were not happy. None of them in my area charge €50 for a follow up visit.

Hotfail.com

user2012 wrote: »

It would be great if it did come in but I can see it being abused. They should offer maybe 5 free visits a year & anything after that should be charged. Or even charge a smaller amount for kids under 5.
At the end of the day GP's are trying to run a business so if its not feasible financially for them then they are dead right not to agree to it.

Or allow 5 free visits that "aren't so serious" where the doctor may suspect they wouldn't have brought the child under the previous system even if they could have afforded it, then if the child is genuinely ill just down count it against the five.

Thinking about it now that doesn't sound like a great idea.

user2012

Hotfail.com wrote: »

Or allow 5 free visits that "aren't so serious" where the doctor may suspect they wouldn't have brought the child under the previous system even if they could have afforded it, then if the child is genuinely ill just down count it against the five.

Thinking about it now that doesn't sound like a great idea.

No, sure you would have kids being brought in with a runny nose!

Hotfail.com

user2012 wrote: »

No, sure you would have kids being brought in with a runny nose!

That's not genuinely ill though! :pac:

ScumLord

fedor.2. wrote: »

All healthcare should be free

somebody has to pay for it, the companies selling drugs and medical equipment won't just give people the products they've produced.

Fuzzy wrote: »

At 52% nominal tax rate, we should have free GP care for everybody.
We are paying Scandanavian standards of tax but get crappy American standards of public services.

Sweden has a population of 9 million though, and the taxpayers probably make more money to begin with, so more taxes coming in. There's no way our 52% will be the same as Swedens 52% and the company selling MRI machines still want the same amount of money.

I don't think there should be free healthcare for all, we can't afford it. So free health care for those that need it, subsidised prices for everyone else. It's also not fair to over charge people that can afford it, it just drives them out of the market.

Cantremember

ScumLord wrote: »

So free health care for those that need it, subsidised prices for everyone else. It's also not fair to over charge people that can afford it, it just drives them out of the market.

The nub of the issue in this country is there. Who are those who need it? There are swathes of the population who live subsidised lives and swathes who do not. The row over discretionary medical cards revealed a fundamental truth about the country: we expect a level of service without thinking of how it is to be paid for.

ScumLord

Cantremember wrote: »

The nub of the issue in this country is there. Who are those who need it? There are swathes of the population who live subsidised lives and swathes who do not.

Well medical care isn't like welfare or job seekers allowance, it doesn't matter to me if you're a scrounge you still deserve medical care and it shouldn't be withheld for any reason.

The row over discretionary medical cards revealed a fundamental truth about the country: we expect a level of service without thinking of how it is to be paid for.

That's the way it is with everything in this country, and pretty much a lot of developed world. The general population are generally ignorant of the majority of the workings of government yet we shout our uneducated opinions the loudest, all the time avoiding putting any time into our state. We believe that paying taxes is good enough to sit back like lords and throw scorn at the people that do the work. The amount of crap you hear coming out of people on a daily basis that haven't a clue what they're talking about is alarming.

This is a democratic republic, if our public servants aren't doing their job properly it's the peoples fault at the end of the day.

NIMAN

No such thing as 'free'.

Lucas Castroman

ScumLord wrote: »

Well medical care isn't like welfare or job seekers allowance, it doesn't matter to me if you're a scrounge you still deserve medical care and it shouldn't be withheld for any reason.

Nonsense. Everybody should be expected to contribute something to their own healthcare costs. I know it's a wacky alien concept in this society that people should be accountable for their own existence. Why should I care about somebody's health if they themselves don't?

ScumLord

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

Nonsense. Everybody should be expected to contribute something to their own healthcare costs. I know it's a wacky alien concept in this society that people should be accountable for their own existence. Why should I care about somebody's health if they themselves don't?

Because you're not a heartless bastard. Some people aren't able to look after themselves, it still doesn't mean we should watch them die. They can not care about their health all they like but in a decent society you don't just ignore someone and let them die.

comongethappy

ScumLord wrote: »

Because you're not a heartless bastard. Some people aren't able to look after themselves, it still doesn't mean we should watch them die. They can not care about their health all they like but in a decent society you don't just ignore someone and let them die.

Asking for some people to contribute slightly is hardly unreasonable.

Your overreacting.

Pumpkinseeds

There shouldn't be free GP care for under 5's. I find it insulting to see PR stunts like that when people are desperately trying to get medical cards, people who genuinely need them. Many patients with Medical Cards have to appeal every time they submit the form to renew their cards as the HSE are automatically telling people that their not eligible or whatever.

It must save them a fortune as many people wouldn't challenge that decision. It also keeps the numbers down while they keep people waiting for a decision on their appeals. People who can afford to pay should pay. What about child benefit, surely that should be enough to cover the occassional GP visit that a child might need?

ScumLord

comongethappy wrote: »

Asking for some people to contribute slightly is hardly unreasonable.

Your overreacting.

What is it that's an overreaction?

Lucas Castroman

ScumLord wrote: »

Because you're not a heartless bastard. Some people aren't able to look after themselves, it still doesn't mean we should watch them die. They can not care about their health all they like but in a decent society you don't just ignore someone and let them die.

The percentage of the population who are incapacitated to such a degree that they can't provide for themselves is minute. The people I refer to are those who drink, smoke, gamble, go on sun holidays, have sky tv and then look sadly for hard-working people to pay for their healthcare when they inevitably get sick. I know you're a liberal, socialist, cannabis smoking dogooder who cares too much but just making you aware that a great many don't agree with your "healthcare for all irregardless" mantra.

comongethappy

ScumLord wrote: »

What is it that's an overreaction?

Implying that a small fee for medical card users makes one a "heartless bastard"....

It doesn't.

I don't feel heartless at all that that on average I pay €1,100 each year for someone else to have free healthcare before I pay for any for my family.

I think asking some of the 1.92 million medical card holders to contribute a very small sum is reasonable to offset the costs of expanding the scheme to cover all infants (half of whom are already covered).

ScumLord

Lucas Castroman wrote: »

The percentage of the population who are incapacitated to such a degree that they can't provide for themselves is minute. The people I refer to are those who drink, smoke, gamble, go on sun holidays, have sky tv and then look sadly for hard-working people to pay for their healthcare when they inevitably get sick. I know you're a liberal, socialist, cannabis smoking dogooder who cares too much but just making you aware that a great many don't agree with your "healthcare for all irregardless" mantra.

So if people don't meet your moral standards and financial ideals they should have healthcare withheld? Would you like to be the one that tells someone they can't have medical treatment and will just have to go home and die?

I think people who make these kinds of requests should be the ones that have to carry it out. It's all too easy to sentence people to death from behind a keyboard, it's a different story when you have to look a person in the eye and I don't think you'd have the stomach for it, but you expect a public servant to carry out this act so that you don't have to deal with the outcome, other than stepping over the dead bodies of homeless people that don't deserve medical care anymore.

comongethappy

ScumLord wrote: »

Would you like to be the one that tells someone they can't have medical treatment and will just have to go home and die?
.........
It's all too easy to sentence people to death
............
stepping over the dead bodies of homeless people that don't deserve medical care anymore.

Hysterical hyperbolae like this just kills rational debate.

ScumLord

comongethappy wrote: »

I don't feel heartless at all that that on average I pay €1,100 each year for someone else to have free healthcare before I pay for any for my family.

You're not as such paying for any specific persons health care you're paying for hospitals and other emergency services that you or anyone in this country can use. If the money isn't spent none of us get care.

I think asking some of the 1.92 million medical card holders to contribute a very small sum is reasonable to offset the costs of expanding the scheme to cover all infants (half of whom are already covered).

You can ask them to pay a small fee but it's going to be a symbolic gesture, a small fee could incur more in administration cost than it brings in, so what's the point?

If you can pay, pay. If you can't pay you shouldn't be turned away. Yes some people are a drain on society but that's never going to go away, those people will always be there and maybe we should worry about the functioning of our healthcare system rather than focusing all our attention on the minority of people that are abusing it. I don't see how they can be the biggest problem the health care system has.

Lucas Castroman

ScumLord wrote: »

So if people don't meet your moral standards and financial ideals they should have healthcare withheld? Would you like to be the one that tells someone they can't have medical treatment and will just have to go home and die?

I think people who make these kinds of requests should be the ones that have to carry it out. It's all too easy to sentence people to death from behind a keyboard, it's a different story when you have to look a person in the eye and I don't think you'd have the stomach for it, but you expect a public servant to carry out this act so that you don't have to deal with the outcome, other than stepping over the dead bodies of homeless people that don't deserve medical care anymore.

I'm saying everybody should be in a position to contribute something however small. Bottom line is if you have lived such a careless, wreckless life where you can contribute NOTHING to your care then yes, I would question your value to society. Practically, this would mean a junkie turning up to his G.P and if unable to pay a minimal fee e5? then he would be refused. This prospect might upset you but it doesn't me. It would instantly mean better healthcare for those that deserve it. Now I accept this is just a fantasy in this foolish society but one can dream.

comongethappy

ScumLord wrote: »

You're not as such paying for any specific persons health care you're paying for hospitals and other emergency services that you or anyone in this country can use. If the money isn't spent none of us get care.

No.... The fee quoted is the average worker pays for the average medical card holder..... What that €1,100 of my money pays for, I have no access to.

As for the HSE in general ... each worker pays close to €6,000 each for that..... Terrific.

You can ask them to pay a small fee but it's going to be a symbolic gesture, a small fee could incur more in administration cost than it brings in, so what's the point?

I assume you ran the numbers on that?

Reducing the capitation fee to the GP slightly, allowing them to charge the user €1 or €2 a visit is very achievable.

Tokenistic or not, if it helps reduce the fact that a medical card user on average visits the GP 3 times more than someone who has to pay, it is worth it.

As well as reminding the user not to abuse the service unnecessarily.

MayoSalmon

5 Euro charge at the mimimum