Universal GP care in Ireland: potential cost implications

In 2011, the Government made a commitment to the introduction of universal General Practitioner (GP) care, which they equated to the removal of fees for GP care. The aim of this paper is to quantify the potential cost implications of implementing universal GP care in Ireland. The analysis finds that universal GP care would add between 2 and 3.5 per cent to overall public healthcare expenditure and up to 1.2 per cent to total healthcare expenditure. While the introduction of universal GP care in Ireland would go some way to addressing limitations of the current system, other reforms may be required before universality can be achieved.