Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 22 October 2015
Public Accounts Committee
Health Service Executive Financial Statements 2014
2014 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39: Health Service Executive
Chapter 19: Compliance with Prompt Payment Legislation in the Health Sector
Chapter 20: Management of Private Patient Income in the Health Sector
Chapter 21: Control over the Supply of High-Tech Drugs and Medicines
10:00 am
Mr. John Hennessy:
I am unsure it is related to flexibility. We have seen examples in the past 12 months of new products coming on the market at very high prices. All of these were in the high-technology area. There is a strong element of the pharmaceutical sector extracting a high price for new products as they are developed.
The second part of the Deputy's question related to reductions in cost. Significant reductions have been achieved. We have had three successful agreements with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association, IPHA, and the manufacturers. Since 2006, a total of €1.5 billion in accumulated savings have been achieved. A current agreement is still running, pending the conclusion of a successor agreement.
The big success story has been in the area of reference pricing. This was the beneficiary of new legislation in 2013. Most people are seeing the evidence in their routine prescriptions.
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