In a further blow to the 654,000 people on hospital waiting lists, the Republic of Ireland Reimbursement Scheme has closed to new applicants – three months after the programme was extended by the Department of Health.
The Republic of Ireland Reimbursement Scheme was created to replace the European Union’s Cross-Border Health Directive following Brexit and reimbursed people who travel to the South to access healthcare with the equivalent sum of what it would cost north of the border. Patients were required to find a private healthcare provider in the Republic after being diagnosed as having a clinical need in the North.
The scheme was initially intended to run to the end of June 2022, but Stormont’s Department of Health extended it following the allocation of an extra £5 million (US$5.54 million). It was announced in July 2022 that the extension would end once the new £5m was allocated.
It closed to new applicants on September 21 2022, with the Department of Heath stating: “The scheme’s additional limit of £5m has now been reached.”
Applications were to be processed in chronological order, while those received after the 21 September will not be considered.
The absence of an Executive at Stormont, Northern Ireland’s devolved parliament, is placing new pressure on the North’s healthcare system following the ending of the scheme.
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