And we have another “expert group”. Just aswell there’s plenty of money in the country to pay for all these “expert groups”

Definition of a paradox?
Expert panel comprised of senior public service figures

My money’s on Colm Mccarthy picking up another gig, all those hours of hanging around outside the Dail gates finally paying dividends!

I cannot believe it will be like the UK free access and free medicines and free
hospitals

Why do we have to have the most unhealthiest looking Td’s as health ministers!

Looking between the lines, it seems to me like they’re proposing mandatory private health insurance. All part of FG’s grand privatisation plan….

Reports too please, we def need more reports. Please Minister more reports please!

Will it be the same experts that said you could put a children’s hospital on top of the mater?

Health insurance in this country for younger people is a con. If you fall on the the ground screaming in agony you’ll get seen to just as quickly as the next guy, put your vhi contributions under your mattress and when you need to a consultant that costs about €150.. Pay cash you’ll see him quick enough. If your
Going to hospital looking for a private room these days, well they are now only used for infection control, I just feel sorry for those who are under the illusion that they will get preferential treatment. Okay maybe it will benefit those who need longer term care, but ultimately you are better off without.

They’re aiming for the Dutch system which means private hospitals and private health insurance. Everyone in Ireland will be obliged by law to have health insurance. It is a much more effective system than the one currently in use but will put serious strain on families struggling to pay their bills.

something has to be done with oiur health system, i have a CRS and now multiple difficulties, just incase the services wanna let me die i have private gastro, rheumy, eye specialist, pay for hearing aids, endo, and visit St. Toms london once yearly, after a botched bit of surgery and the rest put down to anxiety would you blame me going private. that said i need physio, special shoes, adaptive aids and my mobility scooter needs mending, all entitled under my disab pension but do i get, no no no..no sign of it anyway and i can wait and wait and wait..there isnt much working in our public health service for someone like me so we have to do something to our health services, people are paying far too much and those who cannot are getting far too little help..

What if you already have health insurance? Are you going to have to pay for this as well?

Please, not another ‘expert group’. Do the job yourselves like you’re supposed to.

Funny, and there was me thinking you actually had to be an expert to be a government minister…

Another expert think tank, I suppose? More tanks than the bleedin’ Chinese Army!

Hundreds of thousands of civil servants but Reilly wants to burn up piles of taxpayers money on external experts. It is once again incontestable proof that government expenditure is a total farce. What has to happen before theses guys get it. SMEs want the government to stop spending cash unnecessarily. How hard is it to understand that?

yes the current system needs to be changed completely – the 2 tier system is not fair. However what we don’t want is a new Universal Health Insurance tax on top of PRSI & the USC.

As the end of the 2 tier system is proposed, the health insurance industry will probably be up in arms as their profits would surely be hit. Instead of paying premiums to that industry, maybe we should instead contribute to a Hospital Fund which would go to the local hospital in your area – e.g. in Cork, chances are you’ll end up in CUH or the Mercy; If the “local hospital area population” contributed say 5 or 10€ on a week, which would then be used to offset/cover any costs incurred as a patient, the hospitals would have a extra operating fund e.g. if 100,000 people in Cork and its environs gave even €5 weekly CUH/Mercy would have an additional 500,000 per week to use.

I’m not sure tho if it’s a good idea or not………… I’ll look forward to any feedback (oh BTW I don’t work in the health sector at all)

Expert group that will cost a lot of money and will anything come out of it. Look at the mess they made of the plans for a new children’s hospital. 30 Million down the drain and for what.They should have thought of introducing a universal health insurance a long time ago.

“Basic health care should be paid for and provided locally, the government will only create inefficiencies” ??

Yes…because private (for profit) systems which (through legal loop hoops) will try and screw of over the little guy just to make a few extra bucks, are great!

“Local communities with fund raising ect…would do a better job”

Are you have a laugh?? Would you say the same for school’s, police force or prison system? Do you realize how many inequality’s in health service this would create between communities.

“..hospitals with emergency departments than a great big government body, full of problems, ”

You could apply this view point to any large government department, would you suggest we privatize the entire government?!

“that answers to no-one”

Since when do mega rich private institutions answer to anyone?

“this would also stop people being taxed for a service they don’t receive”

This all me, me, me. Above you stated that the community could fund raise, this would be paying for a service they dont receive. Make up your mind.

Just because the state system has problems does mean it should be scrapped. IMO Universal Heath Care just like education are an inalienable right. We all contribute and we all benefit be behave Healthy, Educated population, as apposed to sick, uneducated idiots.

We all know times are tough here in Ireland but thank fuck we dont live in America.

Basic healthcare should be paid for and provided locally, the government will only create inefficiencies.

Local communities with fund raising ect.. would do a better job at maintaining available healthcare and hospitals with emergency departments than a great big government body, full of problems, that answers to no-one.

This would also stop people being taxed for a service they don’t receive.

Jesus why can’t they just fix the system and leave people who can pay health insurance alone

Surely u cannot force health insutance on sumone ??

Some of the comments above would make you despair. Private health insurance for some means their kids get seen before the kids of poor people, which is an immoral disgrace.

Good luck to the Minister. A lot of the population don’t dererve him.

Remember the Boston versus Berlin discussion? Ireland got the worst elements of both … and Irish people pay through the nose.

”Yes…because private (for profit) systems which (through legal loop hoops) will try and screw of over the little guy just to make a few extra bucks, are great!” ”You could apply this view point to any large government department, would you suggest we privatize the entire government?!” – I never mentioned anything about privatizing anything I don’t think you got the point. Your GP is private BTW.
If your local community paid less taxes, could they, with the extra money in their pockets persuade your GP to help the vulnerable in your community?
The people in Roscommon pay the same taxes as everyone else…. ”Do you realize how many inequality’s in health service this would create between communities.” Their “inalienable right” has not been lost they just have drive for 50mins find it.

Governments by their nature are inefficient, services from government should only be depended on where a private alternative is not viable such as health, roads and education.
Directing the money at a local level will ALWAYS be more effective (than any group of experts, consultants who can make decisions far removed from the situation).

”We all know times are tough here in Ireland but thank fuck we dont live in America.” – MediCare in America will be the most expensive & wasteful system ever devised.

Switzerland has compulsory health insurance, a family of 4 would pay €600 per month for middle of the road plan ….

Universal Health Insurance sounds like a great idea. Maybe if we weren’t paying unsecured bondholders we might be able to afford it.
Even then, we’d have to get permission from Germany first.