20,000 will lose medical cards in just three weeks; BILL TARGETS EUR700+ INCOME OAPS.Byline: BY NAOMI Naomi (nāō`mē, –mī, nā`ō–), in the Bible, Ruth's mother-in-law. McELROY MORE than 20,000 OAPs face being stripped of their medical cards in just three weeks. The Government's controversial new means test means test n. An investigation into the financial well-being of a person to determine the person's eligibility for financial assistance. means test Noun comes in on January 1. And under the new legislation, published for the first time yesterday, everyone over 70 will have to means test themselves to see if they still qualify for the medical card. Only those with an income of EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 700 or less a week, or EUR1,400 for couples, will still be entitled to free medical treatment - any more and their cards will be scrapped. The elderly will have until March 2 next year to tell Government bosses if they are over the limit. Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said low to middle income earners will be the worst hit. He added: "The majority of people contacting the Age Action helpline helpline Noun a telephone line set aside for callers to contact an organization for help with a problem helpline n → teléfono de asistencia al público , are civil and public service pensioners. "These are people with decent pensions, index-linked and they are not only concerned that they themselves will lose it because of the income, but should they die, that their spouse would lose their card." The Bill is due to be debated in the Dail next week but it faces stiff competition from Opposition TDs who have vowed to have it stopped. Labour TD Jan O'Sullivan said: "We will be opposing the Bill at every stage because we believe it should not be used at all. "And the universal access to medical cards to over 70s has proved to be very positive." |
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