# operation with no medical card or health insurance



## louthguy (5 Feb 2010)

hi my brother has to have a small thing taken out of his hand and has no medical card or private health insurance. he has to go to a public hospital next week. will he have to pay for this does anyone know?


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## Papercut (5 Feb 2010)

As a public patient he will just have to pay the government statutory charge - I think it's currently about €75, but as a public patient that is all he would be liable to pay if he is getting it done as a day procedure. If he has to be admitted the same would apply daily.

If he attended a consultant on a private basis he would be liable to pay the statutory hospital charge plus all other private fees.


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## Welfarite (5 Feb 2010)

It's €100 initial charge unless referred by a GP, AFAIK. Then €100 per night inpatient charge up to a maximum of 10 days.


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## Gervan (5 Feb 2010)

And does that €100 per night cover everything if you need an operation, like anaesthesia, x rays, drugs while in hospital, or would that all be extra?


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## Welfarite (6 Feb 2010)

Yeah, everybody has public health cover for these things. The 100 pwr night is a 'levy' put on by govt.


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## Papercut (6 Feb 2010)

To clarify, the Statutory Inpatient Charge is €75 per night, & you only have to pay this charge 10 times (maximum €750) in any year, no matter how many hospitals you were in during the year. Surprising, this charge was not increased in this year’s Budget as it is most years. Both public & private patients are liable for this charge, unless they are covered by a medical card etc. A public patient only has to pay Statutory Inpatient/Day Patient (€75 per night/day maximum €750) or Statutory Outpatient or A&E (€100 per ‘same complaint/same illness’) charges. 

  Private patients pay extra private/semi private inpatient hospital accommodation charges, outpatient & day service private charges, Consultant fees, pathology, bloods, radiology, etc etc etc

  If the OP’s brother was originally referred to a hospital outpatient’s department by his GP, then he would not have been charged the €100 Outpatient Statutory Charge. If he self-referred, or was referred on from the A&E Dept of the hospital he would only have had to pay this €100 once (to A&E), unless he was referred to A&E by his GP in which case he would not have to pay the €100 A&E Statutory Charge either. 

  He would have been seen by a consultant or a surgeon or member of their team in outpatients, & would then have been given a further appointment date for the procedure to be performed. This stage could well have been skipped if he was seen originally in A&E by a member of the team, & could have been told to attend the outpatient’s clinic on a certain day.

  He would probably be admitted to a day ward/centre before the procedure, so the Statutory Inpatient Charge of €75 would be payable, even for day cases. The easiest way to explain this is that you are using a bed (or a trolley!), even though you could be in & out in a matter of hours. 

  If it was expected that he would need to stay in overnight either the night prior to or night(s) after the procedure, the Statutory Inpatient Charge of €75 per night would apply, but only one €75 would be charged for the day/night of the procedure. 

  Of course if it was something as simple as having stitches removed that had been done in A&E from his hand, he could just show up & it would be done pretty quickly, with no charge at all, but by the way the OP was worded their post (an operation to have something taken out of his hand), I assume the procedure has been pre-arranged & is more of a surgical nature, in which case the charge will be €75 per day/night.


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## Welfarite (6 Feb 2010)

Soory, my mistake about 100 rather than 75 per night. Thanks Papercut for putting me right!


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## asdfg (6 Feb 2010)

All medicial expenses paid are allowed against tax @ 20% assuming tax is paid. Hold onto receipts, you do not have to send them in.


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