Call for Medical Card Status

To date, persons diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in Ireland do not automatically qualify for medical card cover. The IMNDA are currently lobbying for a change in the medical card application process which will see our entire community granted medical card cover based on their medical condition as opposed to other contributing factors. It is hoped that if we can affect the application process it will bring the entitlements for those living Motor Neurone Disease in line with other neurological illnesses.

Medical Card Access: Motor Neurone Disease is not recognised or covered by the Long Term Illness Medical card, therefore a person with Motor Neurone Disease is subjected to an application for a medical card which is means assessed as opposed to medical condition assesssment.

In some cases a discretionary card will be awarded, however this process will still require that a person with Motor Neurone Disease justify their need for a card through an appeal or discretionary process. This process often asks that the family provide letters of support from their neurologist and the IMNDA as part of their application, all of which is time consuming and difficult to understand given the seriousness of the diagnosis.

Review and re-application: In addition, we have found a large number of our members and their families are granted short term medical cards which require that they re-apply every twelve (12) to twenty-four (24) months. Whilst many feel lucky to have recieved a card for some period of their illness, the short term cards require the person and their family to go through a re-application and review process at a time when their health may often have deteriorated. This re-application process has been cited by the majority of families as time consuming and distressing.

Who is or is not entitled?: Furthermore it would appear that there is no uniformity to the application process, some members have been granted a card and others have not although they maintain similar lifestyles. In other cases members are asked to re-apply every twelve (12) months while other members have been given long term cover. This is particularly confusing, given that all our members have been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, not variations of the disease or possible development of the disease!

How you can help: Many of our members and families will have recieved a phone call over the past two weeks from the office so that the IMNDA can ascertain whether their household has full, short term, or no cover by a medical card. We will also circulate a letter asking for the same information.

We require this information to submit an accurate and up to date report to the Joint Committee on Health and Children in the hope that it will affect both a change to the application process for current and future members and also that it will affect an immediate change to those currently living with Motor Neurone Disease and with no medical card cover.

If you or your family have not already done so, please contact the IMNDA office on Freefone 1800 403 403 or email "> and let one of our staff know at your nearest convenience what cover you have been awarded. We will then present on your behalf with the view of changing the system currently in place.