Vol. 569 No. 5
94 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if the procedure for the payment of refunds arising from the introduction of the drug payment scheme has been agreed; and the reason such refunds will only be made on application rather than automatically to those due a refund. [18157/03]
The drugs payment scheme, DPS, replaced the drug cost subsidisation, DCSS, and drugs refund, DRS, schemes in 1999. It was initially introduced on an administrative basis, with the intention that regulations to underpin its operation would be introduced following amendment of the relevant section of the 1970 Health Act. However, amendment of the Act was delayed, and, following further consideration and legal advice obtained from the Attorney General's office in October 2000, regulations made under the existing section 59 of the 1970 Act, fixing the threshold for the new scheme at €53.33, came into effect on 1 March 2001.
Following a review by my Department of the position in relation to this issue, it was decided that a process should be put in place for assessing applications for refunds to people who may be owed money arising from the introduction of the DPS.
The Deputy will be pleased to learn that the administrative arrangements have now been put in place and that applications for refunds will be invited through public notice this week.
While 175,000 households were involved and there were 4.75 million transactions in this period, the General Medical Services (Payments) Board only has records of drugs purchased where the amount exceeded the threshold, in this case €53.33. A person or family unit who spent less than this, but who was over the €40.63 threshold of the previous scheme, will, therefore, not have their transactions on the board's files and it would not be possible to validate or calculate the refund due to them.
