Medicine rip-off?

pepsiman

Not sure if here is the right place for this, but no harm in trying...

I went to a pharmacy in Blanchardstown, Dublin today to get some prescription medicine. As a Norwegian, I would normally get it back home but as I haven't been back in a while I thought I'd get it here.

The cream that I got cost 165 euro per tube. The pharmacist gave me two tubes and I only paid 85 euro for both because of some scheme which I didn't really understand much of other than it being for people with chronic conditions; like me. The state would pay the balance.

In Norway, last June, the same cream cost NOK 445 (about 55 euro) for a tube of which I had to pay 36% - NOK 160 (about 19 euro) with the state covering the balance.

Apart from the name (it's called Dovonex in Ireland and Daivonex in Norway) the creams are identical - I've checked the leaflet for both of them. Both are made in Ireland actually :-) Would there be any reason why the cream would be so much dearer in Ireland?

(As I'm an Irish resident I shouldn't really be getting this on prescription (so-called Blue Prescriptions) in Norway but the doctor - he has studied in Ireland - was happy to allow me getting it, using my father's address as my address... :-) )

Are there possibly special/stealth taxes or something on medicines in Ireland that I haven't heard of? It may be the case that the price of the cream has increased, but by so much in only 7 months?

Ireland just tends to be really expensive.

Xterminator

Get your facts right!

Its nothing to do with Ireland being expensive.

In Norway the state pays for most of the medicine from the very high taxes it takes in. (Higher VAT, higher income tax etc). However you still pay, just indirectly!

In ireland, a low tax regime, you pay the going rate, until the monthly bill for a household reaches €85 , (a little high IMO).

In fact the cost of medicines in Ireland is comparatively low to international models. Wholesale prices have been frozen since 1992.

X

see [SIZE=-1]www.ipha.ie/htm/info/download/Pharma%20Industry%20at%20a%20Glance%202005.pdf[/SIZE]

pepsiman

Hi x.

I have checked up. Taking VAT into accounts, the prices I quoted would be 136 euro each in Ireland (excl. 21% VAT) and in Norway NOK 356/45 euro (excl. 25% VAT). (In Ireland the VAT is 0% on oral medicine, and 21% on all others. In Norway it is 25% for all medicines.)

The Norwegian state subsidising medicines would be a breach of the EEA agreement, to which Norway has commited itself. (EEA - European Economic Area - being the 25 EU states and the three EFTA states, one of three being Norway). So I can't see how the price in the pharmacy can be subsidised by the state. The fact that the pharmacy gets reimbursed from the state a portion of the price is not a subsidy though.

I've checked the rules the Norwegian National Office for Social Insurance (OSI, Folketrygden) apply, and their rules state:

- Medicines on 'Blue prescription' for chronic conditions: You pay 36% of the total, but maximum NOK 500/62.50 euro per sale for medicines covering up to 3 months use.

The OSI reimburses the pharmacy the balance.

I do agree with you that there are differences in income taxation: In Norway I paid a net income tax of 31% (in 1999) while in Ireland I pay 18% (in 2004, I don't have my P60 for 2005 yet) (the difference between my yearly gross pay and take-home pay).

(Interestingly, the same owner provides this cream to pharmacies in both Norway and Ireland. Wholesaler NMD (Norsk Medisinaldepot) in Norway owned by German Celesio, and wholesaler CMR Ltd. in Ireland, owned by the same Celesio (who also run the Unicare pharmacies, which I didn't use).)

Oh well, I guess I should be happy I only had to pay 85 euro - at least I got something back from my last 6 years of taxes paid

Xterminator

The Norwegian state subsidising medicines would be a breach of the EEA agreement, to which Norway has commited itself. (EEA - European Economic Area - being the 25 EU states and the three EFTA states, one of three being Norway). So I can't see how the price in the pharmacy can be subsidised by the state. The fact that the pharmacy gets reimbursed from the state a portion of the price is not a subsidy though.

No, your wrong there.

In the UK,there is a basic prescriptions charge of €6.40 per item.

Its not contravening any law.

X