There is good news for Mayo consumers as the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association has agreed to Government requests to reduce the cost of drugs. That’s according to Mayo Fianna Fáil TD and member of the Oireachtas Health Committee, Beverley Flynn. MEP Jim Higgins has also welcomed the cuts having written to the Minister for Health last November seeking the reduction from manufacturers.
The Minister for Health has announced that there will be a 40 per cent reduction in the cost of 300 of the most common off-patent drugs, which means a huge saving for those who need to use drugs on a regular basis. It is estimated that these price reductions mean that those who have to pay for their medicines could save €3 to €4 on every €10 they spend resulting in a potential saving of up to €500 per year.
The reduction will also see a huge saving for Government when meeting the costs of drugs for medical card patients. It is estimated that there will be savings of more than €90 million for taxpayers and several million for consumers.
“Generic drug manufacturers have not yet decided to cut their prices for these drugs, but I know that the Government is working hard to persuade them to do so,” Deputy Flynn has said.
The Government also intends to bring forward legislation to allow for generic drugs to be substituted for prescribed drugs, which will mean even further price reductions for consumers. Reducing the costs of drugs will enable the Government to divert those funds to other places within the health care system.
Mr Higgins has asked the Minister to take into account the situation in which many local pharmacies find themselves where medicines bought at the higher price will now only be reimbursed at the new wholesale price.
Consumers can check if their drugs are included in the price reduction by visiting www.checkthelist.ie or phoning the LoCall number, 1890 876700.
