A total of 9,800 children in receipt of a Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA), who have a disability, will receive a full medical card, under a new Bill published by Health Minister, Simon Harris.
There are 33,000 parents who receive DCA for their children, but 9,800 of these children currently do not have a full medical card.
The latest figures show that that this initiative will benefit nearly 9,800 children who are not currently eligible for a medical card. As a result over 33,000 children will be eligible for a full medical card from June of this year.
The HSE has been working to produce both a paper-based and an online registration system which is going live on May ,1, next, with parents being able to use their new medical cards from June 1, 2017.
The new DCA medical card will work as follows:
- For a child in receipt of DCA but who currently does not have a medical card, the parent or guardian will register for the scheme either online or through a paper-based form.
- For a child who is currently eligible for a medical card (under discretion or otherwise) and is confirmed to be in receipt of DCA, the HSE will automatically issue them a medical card.
- For a child who is currently eligible for a GP Visit Card (under discretion or otherwise), this card will automatically be upgraded to a full medical card.
