Cat M reimbursements to increase by £15m in June, consultant ballparks £1,300 for average pharmacy

In a bid to alleviate significant cashflow problems facing community pharmacy contractors, the Government has announced £15 million increase in medicine reimbursement prices in June.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has made the decision based on "margin data from 2019/20 along with predictions for delivery in 2020/21."

This comes amid growing pressure from the sector, including representations from various national pharmacy organisations, who have called for an urgent need to inject more cash into community pharmacies.

"This is not enough – all pharmacies are facing significant and wide-ranging financial issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are continuing to press for urgent additional investment in the sector," said Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Commitee Chief Executive Simon Dukes.

He added that the PSNC would "continue to make the strongest case for the sector," whilst exploring "what the ongoing challenges for pharmacies will be as we move out of full lockdown."

The pharmacy negotiator hopes that the latest announcement will "help to ease some of the procurement challenges being faced by contractors."

PSNC noted that it has been working with other pharmacy bodies "to capture contractors’ costs on an ongoing basis" so it can use these in future negotiations with the government.

Impact on your pharmacy

Management consultant Sanjay Patel has worked out that based on items dispensed pharmacies on average will see the following drug reimbursements increases per month from the Jun 20 dispensing payments.