Vol. 553 No. 2
457 Mr. Ahern asked the Minister for Health and Children the situation regarding refunds due to people in relation to the increase in the drugs refund scheme from ?32 to ?42 per month; if health boards have been instructed to make refunds; the way in which this will be done; the number of people involved; the possible cost of the refunds; the timescale for the refunds; and when refunds should be applied for. [14166/02]
528 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has received the legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General mentioned in Parliamentary Question No. 39 on 24 April 2002; the substance of that advice; the steps he intends to take now to refund the money and to inform those entitled to a refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13257/02]
553 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Health and Children when people suffering from long-term illnesses who were wrongly charged an extra ?10 a month for their medicines under the drug refund scheme, in view of the fact that the order for the increase was invalid, will receive a refund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13774/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 457, 528 and 553 together.
My Department has received legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on this matter, the implications of which are currently under examination by the Department. I would point out that the drugs payment scheme, introduced on 1 July 1999, essentially amalgamated the existing drug cost subsidisation and drugs refund schemes, and provided that families would only have to meet the first €53.33 per month of spending on approved prescribed medicines. The threshold for the DCSS scheme was €40.63 per month per individual, and €114.28 per quarter for each eligible person and dependants for the DRS. Under the DRS the person had to pay for the drugs at the pharmacy, and claim a refund from the health board at the end of the quarter.
The new drugs payments scheme was designed to bring about important improvements over the previous schemes, to be more user friendly and to significantly improve the cash flow situation for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines. The scheme was also designed to iron out anomalies whereby, for example, a person or family who might spend €101.58 in one month on medicines and have no expenditure for the remainder of the quarter would not be entitled to any refund. Accordingly, under this new scheme families are able to budget for the cost of prescribed medicines.
Regardless of the cost of their prescribed medicines, families are liable only for a maximum of €53.33 in any month. A further advantage is that applicants are not required to pay and claim a refund as in the previous schemes. In addition there are no qualifying criteria for the DPS unlike the previous DCSS where a person had to have a certificate from a doctor and be approved by a health board as having a long-term medical condition requiring regular and continuous prescribed drugs in excess of €40.63 per month.
The financial benefits of the new DPS are reflected in the significantly increased spending level relative to the earlier schemes it replaced. The total cost of the DPS and the DCSS in 1998, the last full year of operation, was £74.69 million. In contrast the new DPS cost £110 million in 2000, the first full year of operation, and rose to £140 million in 2001. The aggregate benefits of the new scheme are clearly significantly greater than the previous schemes.
