Cabinet PBS threshold up?
November 25, 2010
THE Senate’s Community Affairs
Committee has recommended an
increase in the threshold for Federal
Cabinet approval for new medicines
to be listed on the Pharmaceutical
Benefits Scheme - along with an
indexing of the level to keep it up to
date with inflation.
A Committee report released last
night proposed that the threshold
should be increased from its current
$10 million worth of annual cost to
a level which reflects this value in its
original 2002 dollars.
The Committee also suggested
that the change should be put in
place immediately, with the move
welcomed by Medicines Australia.
““This is a major step forward
and will make a big difference to
Australian patients if the
Government sees the wisdom in
implementing it,” said MA ceo Dr
Brendan Shaw.
“It’s time for the Government to
implement this sensible reform to
the PBS,” he added.
The call from the Committee
regarding the threshold increase
and index, echoes a similar
Productivity Commission
recommendation earlier this year.
“There are some medicines that
simply should not have to grind
through the Cabinet process and
the Senate Committee has
recognised this,” said Shaw.
“Increasing the threshold and
indexing it will get subsidised new
medicines to Australians quicker.
“Given the Cabinet has not
rejected new medicines for listing,
it is also hard to see how
increasing the threshold will cost
the Government any money.”
Earlier in the year Medicines
Australia, in its submission to the
Committee enquiry, recommended
the threshold be increased from
$10m to $20m.
Shaw said the time for Cabinet
approval had blown out from 6.7
to 10 months, meaning patients
were unnecessarily kept waiting for
possibly life-saving treatments.
As part of its Report the
Committee also recommended
that the PBAC develop agreed
principles of what constitutes
“interchangeable” on an individual
patient basis; plus develop criteria
by which the “interchangeability”
of a medicine will be determined;
and publish both the agreed
principles and criteria.
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