Minister to cut mark-up on drug schemes

THE GOVERNMENT is to reduce payments to community pharmacists by €36 million, under measures announced yesterday.

Among the cuts announced by Minister for Health James Reilly were a reduction from 10 per cent to 8 per cent in the wholesale mark-up payable to community pharmacists in respect of drugs dispensed under the general medical community drugs schemes.

He also said that the retail mark-up payable under the Drug Payment and Long-Term Illness schemes in respect of non-drug items, controlled drugs and fridge items (products that have to be kept refrigerated) would be cut from 50 to 20 per cent.

The Minister said there would also be a 50 per cent reduction in the patient care fee under the High-Tech Medicines Scheme for months when medicine is not dispensed. He said that fee was to be reduced from €60.52 to €30.26.

However, the Irish Pharmacy Union said the Government was not cutting the wholesale margin, as it stated, but was reducing the price that the HSE paid to pharmacists for dispensing medicines on the community drugs schemes.

The new measures are being introduced under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009.

Former minister for health Mary Harney indicated several months ago that she was considering further cuts in payments to pharmacists and a consultation process on the issue took place over recent months. Pharmacy payments were last reduced by the Government in 2009, leading to a dispute at the time.

The pharmacy union last night described that new cuts as “harsh” and said they would impose “hugely disproportionate pain on community pharmacists”.

Union president Darragh O’Loughlin said: “In focusing on cuts and ignoring the capacity of community pharmacy to deliver many primary care treatments more cost effectively and conveniently for patients, these cuts undermine the capacity of the most accessible part of Ireland’s primary care service.”

In its submission to the recent consultation process, the IPU said community pharmacists had already contributed €153 million in savings to the exchequer since July 2009. It said that as a result of Government cuts and reforms “a sizeable proportion of the community pharmacy network is now struggling for financial viability”.