On Tuesday 7th March, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly received government approval to publish the Health (Amendment) Bill 2023, which provides for the abolition of public in-patient charges in all public hospitals.
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 the Government decision to approve publication of this legislation yesterday, Minister Donnelly said:
“I am delighted to announce that today (sic) I have received Government approval to publish this important Bill.
“This legislation, when enacted, will remove for everybody the existing financial burden of public in-patient charges when accessing care in a public hospital. I intend to bring this legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas as a priority in the coming weeks.
“This measure builds on the abolition of public in-patient charges for children, which I introduced last year, and is another significant step in ensuring that people have access to affordable healthcare services”.
The Health (Amendment) Bill 2023 will be published in the coming days.