Medical Card
A medical card issued by the Health Service Executive allows the holder to receive certain health services free of charge.
Medical card holders are exempt from paying the 2% Health Levy part of social insurance. They may also be exempt from paying school transport charges, State exam fees in publicly-funded second-level schools. There may also be financial help with buying school books in certain schools.
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)
- In-patient public hospital services, out-patient servicesand 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
Income guidelines
In general, if you are getting the maximum rate of a means-tested payment, you will be granted a medical card without having to undergo a further means test.
The assessment of a couple for medical card purposes is based on the age of the older person.
Your income is assessed in different ways, depending on whether you are aged under 70 years or over that age.
Income guidelines if you are aged under 70 years
Lone parents with dependants are assessed under the income limits for married persons.
| Weekly income limit (Gross, less tax and PRSI) | ||||
| Category | Aged under 66 | Aged 66-69 | ||
| Single person living alone | €184 | €201.50 | ||
| Single person living with family | €164 |
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| Married couple/lone-parent with dependent children |
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| Allowance for each of first 2 children aged under 16 | €38 | €38 | ||
| Allowance for 3rd and each subsequent child under 16 | €41 | €41 | ||
| Allowance for each of first 2 children aged over 16 (with no income) | €39 | €39 | ||
| Allowance for 3rd and each subsequent child over 16 (no income) | €42.50 | €42.50 | ||
| Each dependant over 16 years in full-time third-level education,who is not grant aided | €78 | €6 | ||
Reasonable expenses incurred in respect of childcare costs and rent/mortgage payments will also be allowed. (There is however, no exact definition of what 'reasonable expenses' actually constitutes in relation to housing or childcare costs).
Weekly travel costs to work (the actual cost of public transport or mileage at 30 cent per mile/18 cent per km) are also allowed.
Capital; applicants aged under 70 years
All capital (savings and investments) is taken into account for medical card purposes. It is assessed as follows to calculate your weekly means:
| Capital | Weekly means assessed | |||
| First €20,000 (single), €40,000 (couple) | Nil | |||
| Next €10,000 |
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Income guidelines if you are over 70 years of age
Between 2001 and 2008, everyone over aged 70 was entitled to a medical card without a means test - see below for more information.
From January 2009 there are gross income limits of €700 per week for a single person and €1,400 per week for a married couple. There will be no standard deductions allowable (for example, for income tax). However, people over these limits can still apply for medical cards on a hardship basis under the discretionary scheme, for example, if they have high medical expenses.
Pensions, earnings, interest from capital and all other sources of income are included in the means test.
Spouse aged under 70 years: Where one spouse is aged over 70 years and the other spouse is aged under 70 years, they will both qualify for a medical card if their income is below €1,400 a week.
Capital; applicants aged over 70 years
Capital (savings and investments) is assessed differently for people aged over 70 years than for those aged under 70 years. For those aged over 70 years, it is only the actual interest earned on capital that is taken into account, not the capital amount. Income from the first €36,000 of capital for a single person and €72,000 for a couple is not counted.
People who have a medical card issued before 31 December 2008
Existing medical cards for people aged over 70 will continue to be valid after 1 January 2009 if the person’s income is below the relevant new threshold. The card holders will not have to undergo a means test unless their income is above the limits and they want to apply for a discretionary medical card on the basis of their personal circumstances
The HSE will write to all people aged 70 and over informing them about the new arrangements. Only people who have income above the limits will be asked to reply to the HSE. Everyone else will simply keep their card.
Other eligible categories of people
Medical cards are usually granted to children in foster care.
You may be entitled to a medical card under EU Regulations:
- You are living in Ireland and receiving a social security payment from another European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) country or Switzerland and you are not getting an Irish social welfare payment (apart from Child Benefit or Early Childcare Supplement). You must not be employed or self-employed, that is, liable to pay PRSI)
- You are living in Ireland and working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and are liable to pay social insurance contributions in that country
- You are living in Ireland and you are the dependent spouse or child of someone employed in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland. You must not be getting an Irish social welfare payment apart from Child Benefit or Early Childcare Supplement and you must not be liable to contribute to the Irish social welfare system, that is, pay PRSI on income.
Full-time students aged 16-25 who are financially dependent on their parents are normally only entitled to a medical card if their parents have one. Students who are financially independent of their parents, for example, who have income from part-time work, and who satisfy the means test may be entitled to a medical card. In this case, the Local Health Office where the student is attending college would issue the medical card. A student getting Disability Allowance will generally be entitled to a medical card.
Return to work
if you are receiving a social welfare payment and return to work, you may retain your medical card for up to 3 years.
If you move house
You can use your medical card for up to 3 months if you are living temporarily in a different area. In this case, you can attend any GP in the area participating in the medical card scheme. If you are going to be away longer than 3 months, you should apply to the Local Health Office of that area, for a medical card. If you move to a different part of your own HSE Administrative Area, you can apply to change your doctor.
