THE WAY THINGS ARE

I’m a little confused about the ‘free’ aspect of Gesy; I stand ready for correction. When I asked around I was told everyone pays the same contribution and if I pay €150 for drugs and services, I pay nothing else for the rest of the year. Luckily, health-wise, this year I haven’t hit that sum. What I’d like to know is, why does everyone pay the same contribution? Is there no declared income check to assess what one could pay?

As a pensioner, I don’t mind if my low milage of the system and my unused euros are to the benefit of those who really need free treatment. However, I’m wondering why people on large incomes or the wealthy should have ‘free’ attention paid for in part by contributions from people on low incomes. The other point being, there are those who need a lot of examinations, specialist care and technological input who will go through that €150 pretty fast.

The needy should have as much as possible for free but surely, those who can afford to pay should pay a higher percentage or get less for free so there is more to go around for people whose income, even up to that €150, is already squeezed. Pre-Gesy X-rays cost a mere registration fee at reception, now we pay. Vitamins from hospital pharmacies were a few euros, not on the list now, we pay.

Aid with reduced cost medication is surely a benefit but some medications are not on Gesy. A national health care service lauded as free for everybody isn’t as equal as extolled. We’ve seen how some unscrupulous practitioners have quickly found ways to misuse the system; outsiders want in. I had an ultrasound done by a reputable person. As a result, my lovely GP sent me to a specialist who cost me another ultrasound on the excuse that the one I had wasn’t clear enough. Was I mistaken in thinking that I was being given to a colleague as a fee gift?

Years ago, being ‘fair foreign’ was perceived as akin to being better off than locals and some doctors charged what they wanted before fees were set. I approached a specialist friend of a friend, simply to ask if he could fit me in. He charged me £50 for the few minutes it took to make an appointment. I was then on TV and radio and the assumption was, I was getting a government salary. The other friend shamed him into returning it. Back then, working flat out, I had to weigh between time-saving going to a private doctor nearby, or the more time consuming trip to the General Hospital, further away.

On one occasion, the fee asked was way above that suggested by my daughter’s pediatrician. (On a widow’s tight budget, I’d learned to find out in advance what I might have to pay for services or doctors.) Shocked, I asked could I pay in two sums. ‘But you work at CyBC, you’ve benefits, a high salary’. I explained that part-timers were paid by the hour, no benefits and, compared to full time staff, a pittance. Shamefacedly he charged me the expected amount.

When costs rise, those at the bottom sink further into desperation. In the UK people are paying over 20 per cent of salaries to rent. Brains are leaving Ireland as they can’t afford to live there. Landlords’ costs rise so they raise rents; the food chain movement is obvious, the buck passes down. A supermarket trolly is an indicator of status, some piled high with goodies, while the low income folk calculate as they go. Food becomes whatever you can afford, proper nutrition and health suffers, supplements are expensive, teeth fall out, bones deteriorate. The squeezed have no holidays, weekend trips, nice meals out, entertainment and clothes/shoes are never a whimsy.

When politicians say, ‘I’m president/prime minister for all the people’ it’s not true. The poor are always collateral damage, tough shit.