Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1523. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Health the estimated full year cost of supplying free hormonal replacement therapy to all women who require it to treat symptoms of perimenopause and menopause; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42102/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Health Service Executive (HSE) advise that while Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is used as a treatment for women’s health issues/menopause, there are also a wide range of other HRTs in place across multiple clinical areas, including the replacement of cortisone in Addison’s disease, and the replacement of thyroxine in thyroid disease, etc.
In addition, menopause can present differently for individual women, both in symptom severity and duration. Not all women experiencing menopause may be clinically eligible for HRT, which is prescription based. Women may also choose not to take HRT and to address their symptoms through alternative therapies and/or lifestyle changes.
In 2021, the provision of HRT under the statutory schemes cost €5.4m – €3.9m under the General Medical Services (medical card) scheme and €1.5m under the Drug Payment Scheme.
The HSE do not have access to data on the expenditure of patients receiving products privately in community pharmacies or whose expenditure for medicines falls below the threshold of the Drug Payment Scheme. This prevents the HSE from giving a robust estimation of the costs of providing HRT free to all who may need it to treat symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
However, the HSE have estimated that the cost to the state would likely be €8.2m per annum, at a minimum. This estimation does not take account of any associated loss of prescription charge income, any relevant future demographic changes, or how the introduction of free provision could impact on uptake.
