Polio - The Late Effects Reality

THE COSTS

It was necessary, in order to quantify the overall costs of meeting these needs, to conduct some market research into the pricing of products for people with disabilities. This in itself, whilst not strictly part of the survey, has thrown up some extremely worrying trends in the way that products are priced in the Irish market compared to, say, the UK and nearby EU neighbours. For example, a shower chair demonstrates an average price in Ireland of € 550 compared to a retail of just under € 200 (£140) in the UK (£1 = € 0.70). Boxes that hoist and carry wheelchairs on the roofs of cars retail fully fitted in Ireland at € 6,500 – € 7,200 whist in the UK the price is € 3,800 - € 4,550 (£2,645 - £3,195). The differential affects virtually all types of equipment and aids to daily living and requires investigation by regulatory authorities.

Taking all the needs of the 224 respondents to the survey it was possible to draw up the financial implications and these are shown in table 41 below:

Table 41 – Table of costs for self assessed needs to mobility and daily living

The survey shows that to meet all the needs of the respondents over the next 5 years the total cost based on current Irish retail prices will be just under € 1.25 million (see Table 42, below).

This equates to an average cost per respondent of some € 5,450. The Post Polio Support Group had a membership at time of writing (August 2003) of some 450, so it can, therefore, be deduced that to satisfy all their needs for mobility and aids to daily living the members need some € 2.4m at 2003 prices.

Extrapolated across the whole of the derived LEP population in Ireland (see Introduction), this amounts to some € 23m being needed across the next 5 years to satisfy the perceived needs of those with LEP. What cannot be stated until after the event is what it will cost if nothing is done. As has been shown (Young, 1992), intervention at an early stage, and with preventative methods, can and does slow down the rate of deterioration.

Table 42 – Summary of 5 Year Financial Implications at 2003 Prices

It should be noted, however, that the true cost that would accrue to the State would be offset by the amount that carers donate to the coffers through their unpaid services, i.e. some € 12.65m per annum. It can, therefore, be argued that through these hidden contributions to the State, even if all aids and appliances were funded by central Government, then the State would still be some € 40m better off.

Note: The costs shown above are purely for aids and appliances and do not take into account any extra costs that may be incurred through the granting, or extension in scope, of any State benefits, grants and entitlements. It should be further noted that, due to constraints in data analysis, it was not possible to extract the needs of those already in receipt of medical cards, i.e. over 70 years old, nor to estimate the repeat rate of consumables such as shoes, callipers, wheelchairs, etc