The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced the launch of a consultation on its proposal to revise upwards the payment percentage paid by pharmaceutical companies who are members of the statutory scheme for branded medicine pricing in 2022 and 2023. The statutory scheme is one of two schemes, alongside the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS), that control the prices of branded medicines to the national health service (NHS).
The DHSC is proposing to increase the statutory scheme payment percentage for 2022 from 10.9% to 14.3%. As the amendment will not take effect until 1 July 2022, companies who made payments under the statutory scheme in the first half of 2022 at the lower rate of 10.9% will instead pay a rate of 17.7% from 1 July 2022.
For 2023, the DHSC proposes to increase the payment percentage from 10.9% to 24.4%.
According to the DHSC the proposed changes reflect higher than forecast sales growth in 2021 and a subsequent increase in the VPAS payment percentages for 2022 and 2023. Making the changes will “ensure we continue to control growth in medicines sales under the statutory scheme at a rate of 1.1% and continue to maintain broad commercial equivalence with VPAS. This in turn ensures the overall medicine spend remains affordable and protects the income to the NHS generated by both schemes”.
The consultation runs until 26th April 2022.
Source:
www.gov.uk, “Update to the statutory scheme to control the costs of branded health service medicines”, 15th March 2022