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There is no list of specific healthcare you can get under the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (NIPHS).
Your doctor in Ireland can tell you if you can get your healthcare under the NIPHS. You can also contact the NIPHS office.
You can only claim a repayment for healthcare that is available as public healthcare in Ireland.
Healthcare available under NIPHS
Examples of healthcare available under NIPHS:
- day-case, inpatient and outpatient care in acute hospital services, including psychiatric services
- community-based outpatient care
- dental and orthodontic services (with some exceptions, such as dental screening services in schools)
- speech and language services
- occupational therapy services (with some exceptions, such as assessment for aids at home)
- psychology services
- physiotherapy services
- disability services
- ophthalmic (eyes, cataracts) services
- orthopaedic (hip replacements) services
- fertility treatment (IVF, IUI or ICSI )
- mental health services
- methadone programme
- addiction care
Getting addiction care under the NIPHS
There is a specific process to follow if you want to access addiction care in Northern Ireland.
How to access addiction care abroad (PDF, 395 KB, 14 pages)
Getting orthodontic treatment under NIPHS
Orthodontic treatment is a way to help straighten your teeth.
Orthodontic treatment is available under the NIPHS. But you have to be eligible for the same public treatment in Ireland. Usually, only children under the age of 16 are eligible.
You can access the orthodontic service through screening appointments in your child's primary school.
To be eligible:
- Your local HSE dental clinic must refer you for an orthodontic assessment.
- The HSE orthodontic service must assess you and approve you for treatment.
Your HSE orthodontic service can give you a letter to show that you are eligible.
The maximum repayment for orthodontic treatment under the NIPHS is €2,200. For example, if your treatment in Northern Ireland costs €5,000, you can claim €2,200. If it costs €1,000, you can claim €1,000.
The maximum repayments for each stage are:
- assessment for eligibility for orthodontic treatment: €100
- orthodontic treatment: €2,100
You can only get a repayment when the orthodontic treatment is completed. This is after the braces are removed and your child enters the retainer stage.
You must keep proof of travel for each appointment, such as receipts for accommodation or parking.
You must pay your own travel costs. You cannot claim for any travel costs under the NIPHS.
Fertility treatment
You can get IVF, IUI or ICSI using the NIPHS scheme.
You will need to:
When you apply for repayment
You can apply for reimbursement in the normal way for each scheme.
The specialist that treats you abroad will need to sign your application. This is to confirm that you meet the access criteria as it is in Ireland.
We will also check that any treatment you get is the same that is publically available in Ireland.
You will not be repaid if your care was shared between a provider in Ireland and a provider abroad. For example, you cannot use eggs that you had frozen in Ireland as part of your treatment abroad. You must have all of your treatment at your chosen provider abroad.
Treatment that is not covered
You cannot use the NIPHS to get IVF, ICSI or IUI if you:
- cannot use your own eggs or sperm
- are in a same-sex couple
- are single
This is because treatment under these circumstances is currently not available in Ireland. You can only have the same treatment that is available to public patients in Ireland.
Healthcare not available under NIPHS
You cannot claim a repayment for long-term healthcare or healthcare that is not available as public healthcare in Ireland.
Examples of healthcare you cannot get under the NIPHS include:
- organ transplants
- any long-term care that helps people do everyday tasks such as nursing home care
- vaccination against infectious diseases
- clinical trials
- drug therapies that are not provided publicly in Ireland