Call for reversal of medical-card legislation

The Irish Hospice Foundation has today called for the reversal of recent legislation that restricts entitlement of the medical card to people over the age of 70 who were bereaved before the start of the year.

Under the legislation, which was enacted on January 1st, a bereaved person whose spouse died on or after 1st January 2009 and whose gross income is between €700 and €1,400 per week can retain their medical card for three years after their bereavement.

The charity, which supports the development of hospice and palliative care, said people whose partner died prior to 2009 should also be entitled to the medical card.

“We would call on the Government to reverse this provision. People should be treated equally. The three-year concession should apply to all newly bereaved people who would have passed the means test for a medical card as a couple,” said Eugene Murray, chief executive of the IHF.

Research carried out by the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York last year found that one in four spouses experience a significant drop in household income following the death of their partner, with 20 per cent falling below the poverty line.

The study also found that psychological distress increased for widows and widowers following the death of a partner. However, the women who felt their financial situation to have deteriorated, were twice more likely to report psychological distress and they felt this distress for up to two years after the death.

“Losing the medical card could cause real and lasting hardship. This provision will particularly affect women as widows generally outnumber widowers by four to one. These are difficult economic times but we must not lose our compassion for vulnerable members of our society,” said Mr Murray.