People who have lost discretionary medical cards could have them returned within weeks, under a proposal being brought to cabinet this morning.
James Reilly will present a series of options - one of which could result in returning cards without the need for emergency laws to be introduced.
Last week HSE officials confirmed that around 1,200 discretionary medical cards had been removed from patients so far this year, in a review aimed at saving €23 million.
Two weeks ago ministers agreed to freeze that review, but the HSE said it could not return the cards it had already removed, because it had no legal basis to do so.
Today the Health minister James Reilly will brief his cabinet colleagues on the options available for returning the cards that have already been removed - and it's understood that one option would pave the way for cards to be returned WITHOUT the need for any new laws.
A so-called "administrative option" would effectively be a short-term solution - with the government giving the HSE the green light to return the cards without concern about the financial implications.
The medical cards U-turn may mean a bigger financial headache for the HSE later this year - but one government source said the move could mean that cards are returned within "weeks, rather than months".
