The goalposts on income thresholds for pensioners have been moved yet again, writes Eithne Donnellan
IT'S A bit like Groundhog Day. Another day, and another income threshold is set for over-70s who want to hold onto their medical cards.
Within the past week, since the abolition of the automatic entitlement to medical cards by all those over 70 years was announced, we have had five different sets of medical card eligibility criteria handed out for this age group.
The first came on budget day and were the existing eligibility criteria for all older people seeking medical cards; then new ones were given on the HSE website two days later, only to be withdrawn and replaced with the old ones within hours. Last Thursday the Government announced brand new higher income limits, only to be replaced again yesterday by fresher ones.
So what is the position now? As of yesterday, any person over 70 who currently has a medical card will hold onto their card if their gross weekly income in the case of a single person is €700 or less (the equivalent of €36,500 per annum), and a couple will hold onto their medical cards if their gross weekly income is €1,400 or less (the equivalent of €73,000 per annum).
These have gone up significantly from the income thresholds of €240.30 for a single person over 70 and €480.60 for a couple over 70 announced last Thursday.
Those over-70s who already have a medical card will not have to undergo a means test. The Government is depending on those people over 70 who themselves feel they are above the income limits to be honest and just hand back their medical cards. If they hand them back, that will be the end of the matter and the end of their medical cards.
Minister for Health Mary Harney confirmed there would be "spot checks" by the HSE to ensure those who should hand back their medical cards do so.
It is expected that 20,000 medical cards will be handed back by those over the new income limits, Ms Harney said yesterday. This is very different to last week, when she said she expected 125,000 over-70s to hand back their medical cards and to end up with doctor-only cards, a special annual grant of €400 or nothing at all after a means test.
Now she insists all but around 20,000 well-off people over 70 who have full medical cards will hold onto them. This means, she says, that 95 per cent of over-70s with medical cards now will hold on to them.
The special eligibility criteria produced last week for over-70s seeking doctor-only cards as well as the proposed annual grant to help offset medical costs for those not getting medical or doctor-only cards have now been scrapped.
"The GP-only card will not apply for the over-70s," the Department of Health said. It added that the annual grant "will no longer apply". For those people reaching the age of 70 on January 1st next year and who want to apply for a medical card, the income thresholds will be those set out above - ie, a gross weekly income of €700 or less for a single person and €1,400 or less for a couple.
These are gross income thresholds, unlike last week when net income thresholds were the ones set out. When these people undergo a means test, savings of up to €36,000 in the case of a single person and up to €72,000 in the case of a couple over 70 will not be taken into account. However, income from savings over these limits will be.
In January, if one member of a couple is aged 70, they will both qualify for a medical card if their income is below €1,400 a week.
If a younger spouse in a couple already has a medical card by virtue of their husband/wife being over 70, they will continue to hold this card if the couple's income is below €1,400 a week.
The HSE will write to all over-70s in coming weeks to explain the changes to them. Only those above the new income thresholds will be asked to reply to the HSE and to send back their medical cards.
In special circumstances where a person is over 70 and over the new income thresholds, the Government claims they could still get a discretionary medical card on hardship grounds. But it's not clear how this will happen, as it was previously announced in the budget that spending on discretionary medical cards, which have always been easier to get in some regions than others, was to be cut next year.