NHSBSA to reimburse prescription for Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets x 56 at £17.77

Any prescription for Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets x 56 submitted for payment to the NHSBSA for July 2022 will be reimbursed at the new price of £17.77 not as per the price concession of £13.45 announced in the 4th concessions update published on 29 July 2022, said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).

In July 2022, PSNC received several reports from contractors unable to obtain Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets (56) at the published Drug Tariff price of £4.24.

Therefore, it submitted a request for a price concession, which was granted and subsequently published but this was later withdrawn after confirmation from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that due to the price change mechanism, the reimbursement price for Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets has increased from £4.24 to £17.77 for July 2022.

PSNC said, “Following the price change mechanism rules, for generic drugs (excluding drugs in Category M), a price change up to and including the 8th of the month takes effect for prescriptions dispensed in that same month. Any price change after the 8th takes place in the following month.”

“For example, if a supplier’s list price changed on the 6th of July, the new reimbursement price would apply to prescriptions dispensed in July. If a supplier’s list price for a generic drug changed on the 15th July, the new reimbursement price would apply to prescriptions dispensed in August.

“Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets are listed in Category A of the Drug Tariff. Prices of drugs listed in Category A are based on a weighted average of the list prices from 2 mainline wholesalers and 2 generic manufacturers.

An increase in mainline wholesaler prices early in July led to an adjustment to the reimbursement price for Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets for July 2022. Contractors should note that the published Drug Tariff for August 2022 reflects the updated price of Promethazine hydrochloride 10mg tablets which is £17.77.”