Reduced pharmacists’ fees to save the province $150M
‘This will be very disappointing for many,’ says pharmacists association CEO
EDMONTON Alberta Health says it will save $150 million over the next two years through a new funding arrangement with pharmacists that will see some fees reduced and capped starting in May.
The deal announced Wednesday is touted to cool the growth of the province’s increasingly expensive health budget while also offering lower costs to patients, but comes at the expense of pharmacy businesses already being squeezed by a recent reduction in generic drug prices.
“This will be very disappointing for many pharmacists in the province, but it is our current state of affairs with the challenges the government has,” said Margaret Wing, CEO of the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association.
“I think pharmacists will continue to do the great job they have always done. They will just have to do it with less money.”
Wing said the association has been consulting with Alberta Health on the framework since last spring, but the talks were subject to a non-disclosure agreement. That means the province’s 1,300 pharmacists didn’t learn about the terms until Wednesday. The changes take effect May 17.
Individual pharmacies must sign a deal with Alberta Blue Cross, which administers governmentsponsored drug plans — including the program for seniors.
Under that plan, seniors pay 30 per cent of the cost of each prescription — including a portion of the pharmacists’ dispensing fee — up to a maximum of $25, while the government covers the remainder.
The new framework calls for a small reduction in the pharmacists’ dispensing fee to $12.15 from $12.30, along with caps on the number of fees that can be charged for patients requiring frequent dispensing of medication.
“So there is an expectation pharmacists will continue to do the same (amount of ) work, but not be paid all the fees for it,” Wing said.
Alberta Health said the changes will allow 8,700 seniors to save at least $100 a year, and some patients with a high number of prescriptions could save more than $500.
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the government decided it could not afford anything more than a 4.3 per cent hike in the pharmacy compensation budget over the next two years.
Without a new framework, the budget to pay pharmacists was set to rise an unsustainable 12.3 per cent, Hoffman said.
Other terms included in the framework are:
The removal of higher differential fees for pharmacists with additional prescribing authority.
A reduction in the fee for injecting a flu vaccine to $13 from $20.
The possibility of allowing pharmacists to administer more vaccines such as the diphtheria and tetanus shot at $13 per injection.
As well, the second year of the deal will see the government hold back at least 10 per cent of its funding to pharmacies each quarter if pharmacy compensation costs start to exceed Alberta Health’s budget.
The changes put Alberta’s fees more in line with those in other provinces, though Alberta’s pharmacists are still in an advantageous position since they are allowed to bill for a wide variety of services not covered in all Canadian jurisdictions, the government said.
Some pharmacists said they have already borne an unfair financial burden in recent years through government efforts to demand lower generic drug prices.
“Pharmacies have become an easy target for cut, cut, cut,” said Shane St. Arnault, owner of Shane’s Guardian Pharmacy in Redwater. “Basically, it comes down to, unfortunately, laying off staff, raising prices and looking at the services we provide.”
There is an expectation pharmacists will continue to do the same (amount of) work, but not be paid all the fees for it.