Pharmacists get tough - Patients will be the ones that suffer

Following a meeting in Cork on Thursday evening, more than 140 local pharmacists agreed to stop dispensing drugs on the Drug Payment Scheme and General Medical Scheme after December 1, if the Health Service Executive does not reverse its decision to cut the prices it pays for the drugs.

The pharmacists are indignant at the way the HSE unilaterally announced it was cutting the mark-up it pays on the manufacturer’s price from 17.66% to 8% on January 1, 2008. That will then be further cut to 7% on January 1, 2009.

From November 1, those whose drugs cost more than 85 a month will have to pay the excess to the pharmacies and then get reimbursed by the Health Service Executive. Previously the pharmacies recouped all of the money from the HSE.