Seanad debates

Thursday, 19 July 2012

Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012: Second Stage

 

12:00 pm

Photo of John GilroyJohn Gilroy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House. At the outset of Senator Burke's contribution, he made reference to the Private Members' Bill on access to cancer treatment which came before the House recently. I would also like to make reference to it because it was a good example of how we can find policy in one area is not only inconsistent with policy in another but contradictory to it. It behoves us all as legislators to keep an eye on the wider picture when we bring forward legislation to ensure consistency across all policy areas, particularly when the policy areas in this regard are so close to each other.

I welcome the Bill. Expenditure on pharmaceuticals is probably the single biggest non-payroll cost in the entire health service. While it is vital to protect patient safety and, as importantly, patient confidence, substantial savings can be made in this area. I note the previous Government wrestled with this issue from 2009 and made some savings. It is time, once and for all, that we tackle this in a comprehensive manner, which is what the Minister proposes to do in the Bill. The Bill goes a long way towards achieving this effect.

The previous Government published a report in 2010 which was good and comprehensive. It proposed a model of price referencing and generic substitution similar to the one proposed by the Minister. However, it did not progress very far - perhaps, as Macmillan said, because events overtook it. The Government has taken the initiative on the issue and has brought forward legislation to give effect to a major advance in public policy. If we do not take this step it is estimated that within the coming years the cost of drugs will increase by approximately €400 million or €500 million to approximately €2.4 billion. Many countries in Europe and elsewhere have in place many of the elements proposed in the Bill.

The Minister and Senator Burke referred in their speeches to the surprisingly low level of generic prescribing that takes place in Ireland. It certainly was a surprise to me to learn the level is 18%. Perhaps it hints at the success of the marketing campaigns of the major pharmaceutical companies in the country. We could examine this also. At present, when a branded medicine is prescribed, the specific medicine must be dispensed. Under the proposals before us, pharmacists will be able to substitute a designated interchangeable medicine, which will result in substantial savings.

I had a look at the Monthly Index of Medical Specialities, MIMS, dated January 2012. The publication gives a listing of drug names, dosage and usage and is extensively used by drug prescribers. I will not mention the name of one particular drug, which is listed under a branded name and of which doses of 20 mg are available for prescription. The generic name of the drug, which deals with stomach upsets and ulcers, is omeprazole. A dosage of 30 20-mg tablets under the brand name is costed in MIMS at €17.28, but under the generic name the same 30 tablets cost €12.42, which represents a saving of 30%. We know that Omeprazole is a widely prescribed drug in this country. I shall mention a similar drug that the Minister also knows. A drug that is sold under the generic name of Cimetidine where 60 tablets of the branded product cost €10.35 but 200 tablets, at the same dosage, of the unbranded or generic drug cost €11.05. That could mean a 300% saving.

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