Vol. 554 No. 5
1024 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children his plans to refund moneys withheld from claimants during the period which the then Minister, Deputy Cowen, had failed to sign the appropriate order; when the appropriate refunds promised to claimants at the time will be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15962/02]
1073 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children the position regarding refunds to people in relation to the increase in the drugs refund scheme to ?42 per month; if he has been advised by the Attorney General in relation to this matter; if so, if he will publish the advice received from the Attorney General; if he has advised health boards to proceed with making refunds to the people concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16262/02]
1075 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in relation to the drugs refund scheme, interest will be added to refunds which are to be paid to people who were overcharged. [16264/02]
1115 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Health and Children if the order increasing the amount payable under the refund of drugs scheme, from ?38.09 to ?53.33 per month, will be backdated to 1 July 1999, from 28 January 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16521/02]
1141 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Health and Children, in relation to the drugs refund scheme, his plans to make refunds to individuals who were overcharged for drugs when the thresholds for the scheme were increased without the regulatory requirements being put in place. [16756/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1024, 1073, 1075, 1115, and 1141 together.
I presume the Deputies are referring to the drugs payment scheme, DPS, introduced on 1 July 1999. The DPS replaced both the drug cost subsidisation, DCSS, and drugs refund schemes, DRS, and provided that families only have to meet the first €53.33 a month of spending on approved prescribed medicines. The DCSS threshold was €40.63 a month per individual, and for the DRS it was €114.28 a quarter for each eligible person. Under the DRS, the person paid for medicines at the pharmacy and claimed a refund from the health board at the end of each quarter.
The DPS has brought about important improvements over the previous schemes. It is more user friendly, and it significantly improves cash flow for families and individuals with ongoing expenditure on medicines. The DPS also removes anomalies where, for example, a family spending €100 in one month on medicines and nothing for the rest of the quarter would not get a refund. Families can now budget for medicine costs, as they only pay up to the threshold amount in any month, and no longer have to pay first and then claim a refund quarterly. Also, there are no qualifying criteria for the DPS, unlike the DCSS, which required a doctor's certificate and health board approval as having a long-term medical condition with regular and continuous prescribed drugs over €40.63 a month.
The aggregate financial benefits for patients under the DPS are clearly significantly greater than the old schemes. The total patient benefit under the DRS and the DCSS in 1998 was £75 million, the last full year of operation. In contrast, the DPS subvention to patients was £110 million in 2000, the first full year of operation, and rose to £140 million in 2001, an increase of 87% in three years.
The DPS was initially introduced on an administrative basis, with the intention that regulations to underpin its operation would be introduced. Regulations fixing the threshold for the new scheme at €53.33 per month could have been made in July 1999 under section 59 of the Health Act, 1970, but, as Government approval had been obtained to amend that section, it was decided to defer making the regulations until the Act was actually amended. At the time it was envisaged that the amending provision would be enacted very quickly. Subsequently, however, difficulties and delays arose in securing drafting time and parliamentary time for the new legislation. Following further consideration and legal advice obtained from the Office of the Attorney General in October 2000, regulations to fix the threshold at €53.33 per month were put in place under the existing section 59 of the 1970 Act in March 2001.
