The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has today received Government approval to publish the General Scheme of the Health (Abolition of Public Inpatient Charges) Bill 2023.
The Bill, when enacted, will remove the acute public in-patient charge of €80 per day, up to a maximum of €800 in a year (including day-case charges), for people accessing care as a public patient in all public hospitals.
Announcing publication of the new legislation, Minister Donnelly said:
“I am delighted to receive Government approval to publish the General Scheme of this important Bill.
This draft legislation, when finalised and enacted, will remove for everybody the existing financial burden of public inpatient charges when accessing care in a public hospital. This measure builds on the abolition of public inpatient charges for children, which I introduced last year, and is another significant step in ensuring that people have access to affordable healthcare services.”
The General Scheme will now be referred to the Office of the Attorney General for priority drafting of the Bill. The text of the Bill will be finalised as a matter of urgency and it is intended to progress the legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas as a priority in the coming months.
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