HepC cash flow solution
April 21, 2016
A NEW supply model to manage
pharmacy cash flow issues around
hepatitis C therapies needs urgent
implementation to ensure patients
have timely access to treatments,
says Pharmacy Guild of Australia
executive director David Quilty.
Writing in the Guild newsletter
Forefront, Quilty re-emphasised
the Guild’s positive attitude to the
listing of these medicines which for
the first time gives some 230,000
Australians living with hepatitis C
affordable access to a cure for this
life-threatening disease.
On 01 Mar four hepatitis C
medicines were listed on the PBS:
Harvoni, Sovaldi, Daklinza and
Ibavyr and then on 01 May, it is
expected that the combination
medicine, Viekira PAK, will also be
subsidised.
Quilty makes the point that
the price to pharmacy for each
monthly dose of Harvoni is
$22,136.61 plus GST and for Sovaldi
is $19,367.69 plus GST, creating an
unprecedented pressure on the
cash flow of any pharmacy business
because of the timing of Business
Activity Statements.
“The maximum mark-up for
wholesalers is $69.94 and the
maximum Administration,
Handling and Infrastructure Fee for
pharmacies is $70,” he said.
Considering the markup is
only 0.28% of the cost of a
month’s supply of Harvoni, for
example, Quilty argues that these
remuneration levels are insufficient
for pharmacies and wholesalers
to bear the cost and the risk of
stocking these medicines.
Under the terms of the 6CPA,
the earliest these remuneration
issues could be considered by
the Pharmacy Remuneration and
Regulation Review is Mar 2017.
Quilty calls for a “pseudo-consignment
model” to be put in
place, whereby pharmacists would
be able to supply the product and
not be required to pay until having
sufficient time to get reimbursed
by Medicare and by the ATO for the
GST on the cost.
He also called for a “reasonable
returns policy” whereby the
pharmacy is not left stranded with
the medicine when patients fail to
collect for a variety of reasons.
Quilty emphasised that while
the Guild is working hard with
manufacturers and wholesalers to
manage a solution, the government
needs to be ready to intervene
to ensure there is agreement by
manufacturers, wholesalers and the
Guild by 01 May.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 Apr 16To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 21 Apr 16