Medical card patients to pay more on prescription charge than cost of drugs

The increased prescription charge announced in the budget was described as a “tax on the elderly” after it emerged the Government will start charging medical card patients more for many medications than what they cost.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) said the €2.50 prescription charge from Dec 1 is now little more than a revenue- raising measure, because it far exceeds the cost the State pays for drugs for a range of conditions such as blood pressure, psychiatric illnesses, diabetes, and thyroid problems.

It is calling for “exclusion criteria” similar to the English system, which would ensure certain prescriptions, including the contraceptive pill or medication for chronic illnesses, would be exempt from the charge.

The State pays cost price for drugs dispensed to medical card patients, and often gets them cheaper when bought in bulk. The latest price index shows many of these lower than the prescription charge, including:

* Diabetic pill Metformin, which costs 65c a month for a once-a-day course and €1.21 for a twice daily dose;

* Blood pressure tablet Atenolol, which costs €2.13 for a month’s course;

* Eltroxin for thyroid problems, which costs €1.52 for a monthly course;

* The Ovranette contraceptive pill, which costs 71c a month;

* Diabetic pill Glicazide, which costs €2.43 for a month’s course;

* Amoxycillin antibiotic, which costs €2.16 for a five-day course:

* Penicillin V — an antibiotic that costs €2.67 for a five-day full dose, but less for lighter doses — usually prescribed to children.

Chairman of the GP committee of the IMO, Dr Ray Walley, said the charge amounted to a “tax on older people” as they are most likely to be chronically ill and account for 70% of the prescriptions issued on medical cards: “The Department of Health is becoming a revenue-collecting department rather than a health promotion department, which obviously is the opposition of what Dr Reilly promised when he was in opposition.”

The Department of Health said the increase will raise an extra €43m next year, but insisted no item will cost the HSE less than €2.50 because of dispensing fees that must be paid to pharmacists which range from €3.50 to €5.