Pricing of cancer drugs in Australia - update on changes to the Senate Notice Paper

Image source: www.pbs.gov.au

The proposed (weighted average) price cut of 76.83% for docetaxel, a drug used in the treatment of cancer, has sparked controversy. There have been claims that cost to patients will increase by about $100 and that cancer services will close as a result of this reduction. On Monday 26 November, Senator Xenophon moved a motion to disallow this price reduction but this has been withdrawn. It was replaced with a cross-party motion (Senator Xenophon, the Coalition, Australian Greens and DLP Senator Madigan) to be moved on 29 November (the last sitting day of the Parliamentary year). The Greens are now no longer part of the motion and this is reflected on the Notice Paper for 29 November (*1080, p. 11).

Government's reponse to the deferring of medicines on the PBS

Image source: Department of Health, Victoria

The announcement by the Government earlier today that medicines previously deferred on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) will be listed on the PBS has been welcomed by the main stakeholder groups. Medicines Australia (MA), the Consumers Health Forum (CHF) and the Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) have all been lobbying Government to reverse the deferral decision made in February this year. See here and here for background.

At the same time, the Government also released the ‘statement of principles of commitment between stakeholders.’ This sets out the short and medium term arrangements for the deferral of PBS medicines.

Affordability and access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Image source: www.pbs.gov.au

Expenditure on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) grew by 9.3 per cent last year (to 30 June 2010). Growth in PBS expenditure (and other health care programs) and the subsequent pressure on growth in spending was noted in paper recently released by Senator Wong as background to the upcoming tax forum. Yet it is not only government that is feeling the financial pain. A recent study found that expenditure by consumers on prescription medicines trebled between 1991 and 2007. The Government has attempted to rein in PBS spending through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) it signed with Medicines Australia and, controversially, the deferral of the listing of some medicines on the PBS.

Minister Roxon to meet with stakeholders about the PBS

This morning, Minister Roxon is meeting with peak lobby groups about the recent decision by Government to defer the listing of pharmaceuticals on the PBS. Representatives from Medicines Australia, the Consumers Health Forum, the Australian Medical Association and the Generic Industry Medicines Association have invited the Minister, as well as Minister Wong and Treasurer Swan, to explain the Government’s rationale for this approach. Minister Roxon has previously argued that it is the role of the government to provide health for patients across a range of services and to carefully examine the financial implications of each potential new product to be listed on the PBS.

In contrast, Medicines Australia has suggested that the recent PBS growth figures show that growth in PBS expenditure has slowed to 2.8% in the year to March 2011 and that the recent reforms implemented by the Government are achieving their objective. All stakeholders have raised concerns about access to medicines and the undermining of the role of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).

For an examination of the issues surrounding the Government’s decision to defer the listing of products on the PBS, see previous blog post.

Making savings from the PBS - is deferring the listing of medicines the answer?

In a recent speech, Prime Minister Gillard warned that there would be ‘painful’ cutbacks in the forthcoming Budget. There was no indication of where these cuts might be but it appears that the Government has already made decisions that will slow government expenditure in some programs. Recently, the Government has deferred the listing of products on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) until ‘circumstance permit’ and imposed a requirement that all pharmaceuticals that receive a positive recommendation from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee(PBAC) must be considered by Cabinet prior to listing on the PBS. This post explains the recent changes to the process for listing medicines on the PBS and discusses some of the implications of the Government’s decision to defer listing of some medications on the PBS.

Large increase in stimulant use for ADHD in Australia: new study

A new study has shown that between 2002 and 2009, dispensing of stimulant medication in Australia—the majority of which is thought to be for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)—has increased considerably.

The study, Australian national trends in stimulant dispensing: 2002-09, published in the Early Online edition of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (ANZJP), used data from the Department of Health and Ageing to report trends in dispensed stimulant prescriptions between 2002 and 2009 by gender and age.