CANCER patients who have not paid the €80 fee for each chemotherapy session at the Limerick Regional hospital are being pursued by debt collectors for the money, the Irish Cancer Society has revealed.
And Limerick Fianna Fail TD Willie O’Dea says he is concerned that people diagnosed with serious illness are being turned down for medical cards.
With more than 1,000 people being diagnosed with cancer in Limerick in 2010, a survey by the Irish Cancer Society revealed that more than half of them had to use their savings to cover the hidden costs of the disease and others had to ask the society for help with bills.
“If your health insurance doesn’t cover the cost, each chemo session is charged at a hospital day rate of €80. The hospitals are now employing debt collectors and patients are getting letters threatening that they will be named in Stubbs gazette. It’s very distressing,” a spokesperson for the ICS said.
They added that the Society’s annual cash support for patients now exceeds €1 million, an increase of 36 per cent in three years.
“An increasing number of patients have to ask us for cash to pay for necessities like heat and travel expenses,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Willie O’Dea says he is concerned about temporary medical cards.
“People are being refused because they have some small bit of means. Appeals take far too long. I’m dealing with one lady who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she appealed two months ago. I’m now told it will be another eight weeks before she gets a decision”, he said.
However, the HSE Midwest said that “no-one is ever refused cancer treatment for financial reasons.
In a statement to The Limerick Post, a spokesman said that the HSE had a statutory obligation to “impose the charges and to recover the monies owed to hospitals”.
“Every charge not collected represents less money to spend on other areas of care. Cancer patients are entitled to apply for discretionary medical cards in certain circumstances. A wide range of supports is available to all cancer patients and there is never any question of treatment being denied because of inability to pay.
“The HSE provides medical cards to individuals in emergency circumstances, such as for terminal illness or for a serious medical issue. No means test applies to an application by a terminally ill patient”, the statement concluded.
