A$372 million to ensure timely access to chemotherapy drugs in Australia

The Abbott government will invest a record A$372 million ($288 million) to ensure Australians continue to have timely access to life-saving chemotherapy drugs, no matter where they live in Australia.

Minister for Health Sussan Ley today announced the details of the new A$372 million, five-year payment package that will provide medicine compounders with the certainty needed to viably continue to deliver chemotherapy drugs on demand to patients and doctors nation-wide.

Ms Ley said this was the equivalent of a 30% increase in overall annual investment by the government when compared to current funding arrangements. She said the package included a new tiered payment system focused around the unique costs of compounding chemotherapy drugs on demand and meeting the expensive safety standards applied to it, as well as a faster direct payment system that will cut down on wait times for reimbursement.

This changing landscape was recognized in a new tiered incentive payment structure for compounders of between $40 and $60 per chemotherapy infusion, depending on whether a pharmacy, hospital or third-party supplier operated a compounding facility licensed by Australia’s drug-safety regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Health Minister said.

Aims to ensure faster remuneration

Ms Ley said the Abbott government would also move to ensure faster remuneration for chemotherapy drugs, with these new incentives to be paid direct to drug compounders, instead of being reimbursed through other parties issuing the treatments, which can often take many months and has led to industry complaints the Government fee is not being passed on in full down the line.

She noted that the incentives would be funded as part of the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement, which was an integral part of the Abbott government’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Access and Sustainability Reform Package. The incentives had been introduced long-term in line with feedback received during the government’s consultations across the pharmaceutical supply chain, as well as the findings of the 2013 Review of Funding Arrangements for Chemotherapy Services.

In November 2013, the Abbott government announced it would provide A$81 million over 18 months to address serious issue raised in the Review about the adverse impacts of price disclosure on the viability of chemotherapy compounding services. These payments were due to expire June 30 2015.