Generics reimbursement to be cut by £100m
Further cuts have not been rules out |
Plans to cut the Drug Tariff prices of four generic medicines on 1 September
have been announced (PDF 10K).
The reduction is expected to reduce pharmacy reimbursement in England
by £100m a year. This equates to an average reduction of £10,000
in the bottom line of the 10,000 community pharmacies in England.
The price cuts will apply to doxazosin, lisinopril, omeprazole and simvastatin.
All four were subject to reimbursement price cuts on 1 December last
year.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has asked the DoH to
justify its planned action. Godfrey Horridge, the PSNC’s financial
executive, said: “We were surprised by the announcement.” He
declined to comment further until after this week’s PSNC meeting
on 14 July.
Normally, reimbursement prices are calculated from trade prices notified
to the Prescription Pricing Authority by two wholesalers and three generic
manufacturers and subject to a discount recovery. But the Department
of Health took these four medicines out of normal operation of the Drug
Tariff when it became aware of significant differences between reimbursement
and procurement prices. It said that last year’s cuts, and the
cuts planned for September, were justified for these four medicines because
their generic versions came onto the market after the most recent discount
inquiry, which took place in October 2000.
Further cuts to the reimbursement prices of generic medicines have not
been ruled out.
Consultation on a range of proposals for the supply, pricing and reimbursement
of generic medicines closed
at the end of October 2003. This week’s
announcement of planned cuts included a statement that final proposals
for new arrangements would be made in due course.
Comments on the planned cut can be sent to Eunice Barnor, DoH, Room 609,
Eileen House, 80-94 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6EF (e-mail generics@doh.gsi.gov.uk)
9 August. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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