{"id":987767698,"date":"2025-03-27T14:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T13:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/?post_type=news&p=987767698"},"modified":"2025-04-16T14:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:21:15","slug":"irelands-opportunity-to-lead-expanding-universal-access-to-primary-health-care","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/news\/irelands-opportunity-to-lead-expanding-universal-access-to-primary-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland’s opportunity to lead: Expanding universal access to primary health care"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ireland has a strong opportunity to lead in health reform by expanding universal primary care. With public support and affordable costs, the country is well-positioned to ensure care for all.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Ireland has a unique opportunity to transform its health system and join its European neighbours in offering universal access to primary health care. A recent editorial in The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Europe<\/a> highlights how, despite being one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, Ireland remains the only one without comprehensive primary care coverage for all residents.<\/p>\n

Public investment in health has grown significantly<\/strong>\u2014from \u20ac15.3 billion<\/strong> in 2018 to \u20ac22.8 billion<\/strong> in 2024\u2014demonstrating a strong political commitment to the health system strengthening. Yet 58% of the population still pays out-of-pocket for GP visits, with costs ranging from \u20ac50\u201380 per consultation. The country\u2019s current two-tier model, while effective in protecting the most vulnerable, leaves many low- and middle-income earners struggling to access routine care.<\/p>\n

Encouragingly, Ireland has already laid the groundwork for reform. The Sl\u00e1intecare initiative<\/a> and broad public support\u201487% of respondents in a 2018 national survey backed universal healthcare\u2014signal a clear path forward. Extending free GP care to all is projected to cost \u20ac381\u2013881 million, a modest figure relative to the annual health budget.<\/p>\n

With strong foundations in place and a motivated health workforce, expanding access to primary care would not only reduce pressure on hospitals but also improve long-term health outcomes. Early intervention and equitable access to services are key pillars of a resilient health system.<\/p>\n

Now is the time for Ireland to lead by example\u2014by prioritising universal primary health care as both a smart investment and a moral imperative.<\/p>\n

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Ireland has a strong opportunity to lead in health reform by expanding universal primary care. With public support and affordable costs, the country is well-positioned to ensure care for all. Ireland has a unique opportunity to transform its health system and join its European neighbours in offering universal access to primary health care. A recent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":559,"featured_media":987767701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[],"tags":[126],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987767698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987767698"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987767698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":987767716,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/987767698\/revisions\/987767716"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/987767701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987767698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987767698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p4h.world\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987767698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}