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Medical Card

Free GP visits and hospital care, based on your income. Prescriptions are not free, there's a per-item charge with a monthly cap, refunded annually if you pay over it.

Last checked August 2026

What it is

Free GP care and hospital services, based on income. Prescriptions have a charge, €1.50 per item under 70 and €1 per item at 70 or over, capped monthly. People aged 70 or over are assessed under separate, higher income limits.

Who can get it

Under 70, your weekly NET income is under the limit for your household type (a single person living alone under 66 must be under €184 a week, €201.50 if you are 66 to 69; a couple or lone parent with dependants under €266.50)
If you are 70 or over, a separate, higher GROSS income test applies instead: €550 a week for a single person, €1,050 a week for a couple. Over those limits you still get a GP visit card automatically, whatever your income, and you can ask to be assessed under the under-70 rules instead, where allowable expenses like rent and childcare often bring people back under the line

Good to know

Prescriptions are not free: €1.50 per item if you're under 70 (capped at €15 a month per person or family), €1.00 per item at 70 or over (capped at €10 a month), refunded annually if you pay over the monthly cap.
If you don't qualify on the standard means test but have significant medical or care costs, you may still get a discretionary medical card.
A child diagnosed with cancer in the last 5 years, or a child getting Domiciliary Care Allowance, can get a medical card with no means test. The cancer route still needs an application and a medical report; the DCA route is registration only.
Emergency medical cards exist for a terminal illness (a prognosis of 24 months or less) or end-of-life care, active within 24 hours, with no means test, and they never need to be renewed.
If you were on a full social welfare or state employment scheme payment for 12 months or more and then start work, you can keep your medical card for up to 3 years. IT IS NOT AUTOMATIC AND THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE LOSE IT: you have to submit a NEW medical card application saying you are applying on that basis. Your dependent family members can keep theirs too, even if they start work in those 3 years.
The HSE says this plainly and it is the most useful line on their whole site: if your only household income is a social welfare payment, you qualify for a medical card and should apply. So apply rather than assuming you will be assessed out.
THE INCOME LIMIT IS NOT THE WHOLE STORY, and this is what wrongly puts people off. Your limit is built from three things added together: a basic rate for your circumstances, an amount for each dependant, and your ALLOWABLE EXPENSES. Those cover rent or mortgage, childcare, travel to work, maintenance payments and the net cost of private nursing home care. The HSE's own worked example takes a single person living alone from €184 a week to €395.62 once rent and travel to work are counted in.
Savings do not count the way people fear. The first €36,000 for a single person, or €72,000 for a couple, is ignored completely, and only the interest above that is assessed.
Register for a FAMILY CERTIFICATE and give it to your pharmacist. Without it you pay over the monthly cap and then have to wait for an annual refund.

How to apply

Applications go through HSE. The official page has the full eligibility rules and the application itself.

Go to the official page →

Checked against the official source on 8 August 2026. Always confirm the details on the official page before applying.

Questions people ask

Are prescriptions free with a medical card?

No. There's a charge of €1.50 per item if you're under 70, capped at €15 a month per person or family, or €1.00 per item if you're 70 or over, capped at €10 a month. You're refunded annually if you pay over the monthly cap.

Can I get a medical card if I don't pass the means test?

Possibly. If you have significant medical or care costs, you may qualify for a discretionary medical card even if your income is over the standard limit.

Can I keep my medical card if I start working?

Yes, for up to 3 years, if you were on a full social welfare or state employment scheme payment for 12 months or more. But it is not automatic. You must submit a NEW medical card application stating that you are applying on that basis, and plenty of people lose the card simply by assuming it carries over. Your dependent family members can keep theirs too, even if they start work during those 3 years.

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