Medical card for cancer treatment

wonderfl0nium

So unfortunately my girlfriend's dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer. They applied for a medical card five weeks ago, and have only just been told that they need to supply more information in order to receive it, so it will take weeks until they have one. They've already gone into debt paying for surgery and are now forced to go into even further debt. Is there anything they can do to speed up the process or anything available to help them out in the meantime?

hawthorne

wonderfl0nium wrote: »

So unfortunately my girlfriend's dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer. They applied for a medical card five weeks ago, and have only just been told that they need to supply more information in order to receive it, so it will take weeks until they have one. They've already gone into debt paying for surgery and are now forced to go into even further debt. Is there anything they can do to speed up the process or anything available to help them out in the meantime?

Talk to your local TD.

wonderfl0nium

hawthorne wrote: »

Talk to your local TD.

Yep, been there already!

hawthorne

Phone Joe on Monday. He might have an interest.

Gatling

Nothing can be done until they have all the information required and requested to make a decision

splinter65

wonderfl0nium wrote: »

So unfortunately my girlfriend's dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer. They applied for a medical card five weeks ago, and have only just been told that they need to supply more information in order to receive it, so it will take weeks until they have one. They've already gone into debt paying for surgery and are now forced to go into even further debt. Is there anything they can do to speed up the process or anything available to help them out in the meantime?

Unfortunately if you don’t send all the documentary evidence asked for in the application process then the application will be suspended until they get it.
Medical card is rigorously means tested so that it is fair for everyone.
Is he in the public system now having been in the private system initially?
The public system is that he is referred to oncology services by his GP and he will be attending the hospital as a public patient.
Once he has paid his GP then the only further charges are €80 per night for a maximum of 10 nights in a rolling year if he is admitted as an inpatient and of course pay for a prescription to be filled in a pharmacy, but this is capped at €134 per month .
If he has a medical card then there is no GP charge no inpatient charges and just €2 per item for each drug on the prescription .

Harrie

Afaik Hospitals have the ability to apply for emergency medical cards (i dont know if it is all hospitals but certainly the hospital i had my cancer treatment in does, once they realised i didnt have one they applied that day for me).
I got mine this way just last month. No forms, no means test nothing required from me, hospital did it all. I should point out i was an outpatient at the time. A week later i got a letter saying my application had been received and i should be approved within 2 weeks. I got my card a couple of days later. It is only valid for 6 months because it's an emergency card but i can reapply myself before it expires.

You should ask the medical social worker in the hospital about it, even go back to the private hospital he was in and ask their medical social worker about it.

I hope he gets sorted very soon, cancer is cruelly and shockingly expensive :-(