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THE IRISH CANCER Society is calling on the government to abolish inpatient charges in Budget 2019.
Patients are required to pay €80 for an inpatient visits, including day cases for cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
“Inpatient charges of up to €800 a year can be crippling for families struggling to make ends meet while also trying to cope with the physical and emotional impact of cancer,” said Averil Power, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, which has launched a petition calling for the abolition of these fees.
“If patient charges aren’t paid within seven weeks, they can be referred to a debt collection agency by the hospital. This practice causes needless stress and fear for patients and must be stopped. It is the last thing any patient needs while having treatment for cancer,” she said.
“In some cases of ‘excessive hardship’, hospitals may either waive the charge or agree installment plans with patients. However, these arrangements are at the discretion of the hospital, and it is unclear what constitutes hardship. This also places an unfair administrative burden on patients on top of an already unfair charge.”
Marie Moran, who is a breast cancer survivor, was diagnosed when she was 32 weeks pregnant.
“The first I knew of inpatient charges was when the bills arrived,” she said.
I was in the process of applying for a medical card so in the hope that it would come through, I didn’t pay the charges. When the bills turned into final notices it caused me so much stress and worry at an already difficult time. Eventually the hospital agreed to waive the charges, however I still received a couple of chase up letters demanding payment which was really upsetting and stressful.
“I was already fighting cancer with a new baby, I didn’t need the additional fear of debt collectors knocking at my door.”
Averil Power said the removal of inpatient charges will benefit all patients dealing with high medical costs who do not have a medical card or private health insurance. “We are asking the public to support our campaign and ensure vulnerable patients no longer have to face crippling charges and the pressure of debt collectors.”
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Is that the same Averil Power who desperately wanted to be a TD? The same Averil Power who got thousands of fridge calendars printed at public expense for her “constituents”, even though she was a Taoiseach-nominated Senator and did not actually have a constituency. And the phone numbers on it were wrong. If you tried to call the Garda station you got through to the library.
So, this is where she has landed herself. I wonder what her salary is.
@Dave Slater: and how do you feel about cancer patients being treated this way?
@Patrick J. O’Rourke: Not at all good. But I would prefer if it was not a person who has a history of being completely self-serving who was speaking on their behalf. Last I heard of her, she was CEO of some organisation to do with asthma. This must be a better, higher-profile, gig.
@Dave Slater: if you’re that curious about her salary, you can just Google it, it’s on their website. Don’t worry, I checked for you, the CEO gets €125,000 per annum as of last January, for a chariyy that reported income of just shy of €23 million in 2015 and 2016. Glad I can help
@Dave Slater: Why attack the messenger? Has she a valid point or not?
@Dave Slater:
Never ceases to surprise me how the same names keep popping up when it comes to well paid “charity” appointments…
@Vocal Outrage: Better than a TD, but it doesn’t have the same cachet. €125,000, presumably plus all the extras, for what exactly? I doubt she is an expert on cancer, and she never struck me as being a particularly inspirational thinker or speaker. Now, I hope it might not be to do with her media, through marriage, and political connections.
@Dave Slater: you do realise it was openly advertised, if you like the package you could have applied you know. Believe me, I am no fan of Ms. Power but attacking her for holding a job and pay packet that was openly advertised is a bit much. The last CEO wasn’t a cancer specialist, I’d prefer them to actually be curing cancer, nor a former or current politician.
@Vocal Outrage: Well, it had to be openly advertised. Transparency and all that rigmarole. They needed to be seen to be transparent.
@Dave Slater: that’s all these ex politicians are good for when they’re dumped out of politics, jobs where it’s an advantage to have connections to the politicians still in gov. It says a lot about their incompetence and unsuitability for the job while in politics in the first place.
@Kieran OKeeffe: They are charities they are also service providers to the HSE.
The are a large are complicated business.
I have been old on by experts in the field that she is extremly good at her job as she was in The Asthma Society.
Not involved in either of them personally but I know and respect people who are.
It’s really simple, certain life threatening illness treatments should be free.
@B9xiRspG: Or at least a simple means test. Some people will lose their income while undergoing long treatments for cancer. €800 a year may not be a lot to some but to those who have to give up work or are self employed it is an unneceessary worry. €800 to the health service is a drop in the ocean.
@B9xiRspG: I don’t think anyone would argue with this. While the big “C” is the one everyone fears most it should also be remembered that there are also many other diseases and conditions that can financially cripple a family too and are equally devastating.
Same happened us, my husband was going through chemotherapy & radiation treatment. It was hard enough coming to terms with his diagnosis & losing his weekly wage without the added pressure of receiving these demands. These charges should be deferred until the person is able to pay for them. Debt collectors are not the answer.
Yet they can throw away over €650 million a year in “aid” to Thied World dictators.
https://www.irishaid.ie/what-we-do/how-our-aid-works/where-the-money-goes/
They also gave themselves a €5k raise, not all took it but there for the taking.
no doubt about it ordinary irish people are being rode by everyone and especially by our very own…how in the name of god has ireland got to this??
It would be a great satisfaction, if government spends our tax money on useful things like this, not on Pope/Trump visits.
the FG mindset, screw everyone except the banks ,just bend over ,thank you leo ,paschal ,owen ,and young harris .that a boy .
@Anthony Gallagher: There have always been inpatient charges for except for medical card holders. What do you think of the point raised?
@Anthony Gallagher: stop with the whataboutery – the hospital payments system is aggressive. You could get an invoice within a week, and reminders (with threats of Debt collectors) every 2 weeks til it is paid. It has always been like this…
A maximum of €800 in any one year seems like the bargain of the century considering the hospital saved her life. You’d think she’d be delighted to contribute to the health service. I’m sure €800 is only a fraction of the cost of her treatment. Greedy people been supported by gormless politicians as usual.
@Stephen: still should be a system in place for ill people without medical cards who cannot pay for medical treatment… you could run up €800 in less than 6 weeks if diagnosed with cancer with the amount of inpatient day treatments given but it takes approximately 3 months to get a medical card.
Abolish hospital fees in public hospitals now
@rendams: I don’t agree.
It is already free for Medical Card holders; this issue only effects a minority of people who run up this fee in a short time… if they are eligible for a medical card, there should be a social worker or advocate to contact the hospital and request a stay of 3 months on the bill to allow the medical card application to be processed.
Most hospitals are willing to do this…
FFS does the goughing of Joe and Josephine Public for every cent they have never stop.
The cost of an inpatient stay for chemo runs to thousands per stay. 80 quid is now too much? Money is beside the point, having seen my dad get poisoned with chemo for five years and hardly gain 1 decent day out of it all I’d opt to stay at home and just get pain meds or hash or something. Easy to say from here but that poison only profits big pharma and gives nothing to the person.
@Phil Swan: you may not last the 5 years your Dad did if that was ever your plan .
Either you charge sick people for staying in hospital or you don’t, no one is an inpatient in the hospital for the craic
@Murr Paul: €80 for an overnight stay after a procedure is not alot to ask from most. The main problem is for people requiring long term treatments that could be affecting their income.
@Reg: it’s not even for an overnight stay if you’re an in patient for a few hours, you’ll get charged the 80 euro aswell .
when I got injured working in tallaght hospital, I attended A/E.
As an employee who got injured in work I do not have to pay the levy of 80 or 100 euro.
Following few weeks kept getting letters in post from tallaght hospital and a third party debt collector company requesting me to pay the fee.
Typical greedy Ireland
@Rob Doyle: did you not contact the hospital and offer written evidence to sort this out? Their accounts department would have no idea if you are injured via work – they don’t have access to your medical records- just that you are not a medical card holder.
Why is it politicians act like they are their parties are not the ones in control of the HSE. Sitting members of this government direct the HSE. They have them do bad things, then pretend to be outraged by it. The HSE just gives the government a proverbial fig leaf to use so they can pretend to be outraged when things like this happens even though they are the very ones who gave the orders to make this sort of thing happen.
Does health insurance not cover it? If you get insurance, then it would cover the bills. I thought it did.
@Ruth Canavan: there is an excess on most health insurance policies-you pay the first €250-750 depending on your policy and the rest is covered.
Plus some policies don’t cover day cases or certain treatments. Some don’t cover this levy either.
@Ruth Canavan: Health insurance is beyond the means of many people. We are supposed to have a health system that takes care of the people. We pay for it in our taxes but that seems to have been forgotton.
people who encounter those parasites should tell them to go fook themselves they have no legal powers and if ever they call again tell them you will sue them for intimidation and harassment
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