Medical billing
Ireland — public hospital charges, medical cards and the HSE complaints route
NationalIEUnverified — check before relying on it
Ireland
- Rule id
- medical.ie
- Version
- 1.0.0
- In force from
- January 1, 1970
- Last read against its sources
- August 5, 2026
- Countries bound
- Ireland
In plain language
What this regime says.
What an Irish public hospital may charge depends on your eligibility category under the Health Act 1970. Medical card holders are largely exempt, and a GP referral removes the emergency department charge.
Who is covered
People treated in Irish public hospitals.
What you get
Cancellation of charges raised against an eligible patient, and a statutory complaints route ending at the Ombudsman.
Where claims go wrong
- Paying an emergency department charge without mentioning a GP referral.
- Not telling the hospital about a medical card, because the hospital assumed you did not have one.
Authority
Every citation,
with its pinpoint.
A claim that cites “EU law” gets filed. A claim that cites Article 7(1)(c) gets answered. These are the exact coordinates this entry rests on.
- Health Act 1970 (as amended)Health Act 1970, No. 1 of 1970URL verified 2026-08-05Part IV — eligibility for health services, medical cards, and charges for in-patient and out-patient services
Sources
Where a figure is indexed, converted or published by a regulator rather than fixed in the instrument, the provenance is recorded separately. Anything marked as a modelled estimate is exactly that — a model, not a statutory number.
- Feedback and complaints — Your Service Your SayHealth Service Executiveretrieved 2026-08-05
- Complaints about public bodies, including the HSEOffice of the Ombudsmanretrieved 2026-08-05
What it imposes
Clocks, defences and the ladder.
A rule module builds these while it evaluates, because a limitation period depends on which forum is open to you. What follows is the structure this regime produces — deliberately with no dates and no figures, because those belong to your facts rather than to the law.
What it entitles you to, beyond money
- Cancellation of a charge raised against an eligible patientWrite to the hospital's patient accounts office with your medical card or GP visit card details and ask for the charge to be withdrawn and any payment refunded.
- A statutory complaint under the HSE "Your Service Your Say" processThe HSE must acknowledge and investigate, and the outcome can then be taken to the Ombudsman.
Where to take it next
- Write to the hospital patient accounts officeState your eligibility category, attach the card, and ask for the charge to be cancelled.Claim directtypically 30 days
- HSE complaint — "Your Service Your Say"The statutory complaints process for health services in Ireland.Internal appealtypically 45 daysofficial page
- Office of the OmbudsmanReviews complaints about the HSE once the internal process has been exhausted. Free.Ombudsmantypically 150 daysofficial page
Documents
What this regime can produce.
Every one of these is a document you send yourself, in your own name. Duesday never writes to anybody on your behalf and is never anyone’s agent.
The same claim type elsewhere
EU cross-border healthcare — Directive 2011/24/EU reimbursement, the EHIC and the S2EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 2011/24/EU, Arts. 6, 7 and 8Confidence: highFrance — dépassements d'honoraires, secteur 1 and 2, and the OPTAMFRNational — FranceCode de la santé publique, art. R. 4127-53Confidence: mediumGermany — the GOÄ and GOZ private billing schedules and their multiplier limitsDENational — GermanyGebührenordnung für Ärzte (GOÄ), §§ 2, 5 and 12Confidence: mediumItaly — Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, the ticket and the URP routeITNational — ItalyLegge 23 dicembre 1978, n. 833Confidence: lowNetherlands — NZa tariffs, the eigen risico and the SKGZ dispute routeNLNational — NetherlandsWet marktordening gezondheidszorg (Wmg), art. 35Confidence: mediumSpain — Sistema Nacional de Salud coverage and the right to economic informationESNational — SpainLey 41/2002, de autonomía del pacienteConfidence: lowUnited Kingdom — NHS charging, overseas visitor invoices and private healthcareGBNational — United KingdomNational Health Service Act 2006, s. 1(4)Confidence: mediumArizona surprise out-of-network bill dispute resolution (A.R.S. § 20-3111 et seq.)US-AZSub-national — United StatesA.R.S. § 20-3111 et seq.Confidence: medium
Other rights in the same countries
European Union — delivery rights on consumer sales (Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 18)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2011/83/EU, Art. 18Confidence: mediumEuropean Union — price indication, drip pricing, pre-ticked extras and surchargingEUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 98/6/EC, arts. 2(a) and 3(1)Confidence: highEuropean Union — rail passenger rights (Regulation (EU) 2021/782)EUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2021/782, Art. 19Confidence: highEuropean Union — Representative Actions Directive (EU) 2020/1828EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumersConfidence: highEU cross-border healthcare — Directive 2011/24/EU reimbursement, the EHIC and the S2EUSupranational — 27 countriesDirective 2011/24/EU, Arts. 6, 7 and 8Confidence: highEU air carrier liability for baggage (Regulation (EC) No 2027/97)EUSupranational — 31 countriesRegulation (EC) No 2027/97, Art. 1 (as amended by Regulation (EC) No 889/2002)Confidence: highEU ePrivacy Directive and GDPR (direct marketing)EUSupranational — 30 countriesDirective 2002/58/EC (ePrivacy Directive), Art. 13Confidence: mediumEU General Data Protection RegulationEUSupranational — 30 countriesRegulation (EU) 2016/679, Arts. 15–21Confidence: high
Does this one reach your facts?
The engine runs every regime that could apply at once and reconciles them, rather than making you guess which page to read.
Not a law firm. Not legal advice. You send it yourself. This page describes a law; it is not advice about your situation and no outcome is promised.