GP and Health Centre Charge Increases: Are they regulated?

R

ronny78

Registered User
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Hi,

Attended our Medical Centre (4 x GPs, 2 X Nurses) last week and on leaving the nurses office presented my €25 at reception to pay the bill. However it turned out that the fee had gone up to €35 in the year since I last attended and I was reliably informed was going up to €40 this week....to see a nurse, not the doctor. I was about to ask what extra the HSE was now giving the centre for public appointments but the phone rang and I was promptly ignored.

So before I stray into letting off steam, can someone tell me how such price rises are governed ? I did a search to see if I could find anything on price recommendations but didn't come up with anything. The last time I paid for a GP visit it was €55 and I remember someone telling me they thought the HSE only contributed €32 for the same appointment for someone who held a medical card. Is this correct ?

I presume the GP charge has also gone up to €60 (the last increase was from €50 to €55), are these prices comparable to what everyone else is paying ?

Thanks,
R-
 
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Re: GP and Health Centre Charges

ronny78 said:
can someone tell me how such price rises are governed ?
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I didn't think that there were any price controls on such services and service providers could charge what they like and what the market will bear?
I presume the GP charge has also gone up to €60 (the last increase was from €50 to €55)
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Why don't you check rather than presuming?
are these prices comparable to what everyone else is paying ?
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Comparable - perhaps. The same - no. My GP charges €45 per consultation and usually does not charge for follow ups or attending just to get a prescription renewal unlike some (many?). My wife/kid's GP charges €50 per consultation.
 
Re: GP and Health Centre Charges

ClubMan said:
My GP charges €45 per consultation and usually does not charge for follow ups or attending just to get a prescription renewal unlike some (many?). My wife/kid's GP charges €50 per consultation.
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What !!! She pays more than you. !!! That’s a full €2.95 extra per visit (not counting free follow-ups!) after the tax refund. What happened to shopping around and getting the best deals? I thought you kept her on the straight and narrow! I think we now who wears the trousers in the Clubman family:p
 
Re: GP and Health Centre Charges

Verified today that the GP visits have increased to €60.

I didn't think that there were any price controls on such services and service providers could charge what they like and what the market will bear?
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I suppose that is how it works, but given that this service operates on two levels where the same service is being offered to people at two different prices, wouldn't guidelines be a good thing ? It is a slightly different type of service provider though. It is difficult to shop around if you are ill at the time, which at the prices we are being charged, I imagine a lot of people put off going until they are. And it can be difficult to change GPs. Before I found my current one I rang a few that were recommended to me only to be told they weren't taking new patients.

When speaking of a 2 tier health system, I have always found myself opposed to the idea that public patients should end up waiting for treatment just because they couldn't afford it. But when it comes to primary care I am starting to feel a bit fleeced. If I am paying almost twice as much for an appointment, shouldn't I be getting something extra ? Haven't worked out exactly what that could be just yet, but if we are applying the same principles of this being a service provider, shouldn't we expect that ?

In danger of letting off steam here so I'll have to stop ! It would be great to hear if anyone has some insight as to how these prices are set and the justification for public and private ones being so different.
 
Re: GP and Health Centre Charges

The GP does not get a "fee per visit" from the HSE for medical card patients, just a single annual payment, with extra payments for other services like removing sutures or giving vaccines.
Why not suggest that your GP display their prices in reception?
 
Re: GP and Health Centre Charges

I guess the first person that you should speak to about this is the GP himself.
 
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