Cowen announces roll-back on over-70s medical cards
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
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The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, has announced a major roll-back in the Government's decision to end the automatic medical-card entitlement for people over the age of 70.
Speaking during a hastily arranged press conference this morning, Mr Cowen confirmed that the decision will not be applied to over-70s who currently hold a medical card.
Instead, it will be only affect people who turn 70 after January 1st, who will then face a means test if they want to apply for a medical card.
Mr Cowen said the income thresholds for such applicants will be around €700-a-week for a single person and €1,400-a-week for a couple.
This is significantly higher than the €240-a-week threshold announced last week.
