TOPIC: PBS Pricing - Take a deep breath...

So I guess like a lot of people I've been wondering how good a deal the PBS negotiated.

Last week I heard that a major public hospital had ordered 10 lots for $66,000 but thought that must be wrong.

Given the pharmacists have to order these medications I came up with the cunning plan of asking one. The prices were not available earlier in the week, but they are now.

Make of it what you will but the $22 k per month price for Harvoni looks like exactly the same as the price France and Germany negotiated and would allow 15,000 people to be treated for $1 billion.

At current current rates, $66,000 AUD = 43,000 EUR. Back in 2014, the French government negotiated 41,000 EUR for 3 months of sofosbuvir.

www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/france_agrees...pricing_in_eu_618661

I am just guessing, but here is how those tough negotiations seem to have rolled out:

Australia: We want to treat everyone, please can we have a special bulk-purchase deal?

Gilead: We made a special deal with France for sofosbuvir 41,000 EUR per head. We'll drop that by 5% to 38,750. Take it or leave it.

Australia: OK, we'll take it.

If 230,000 people in Australia have HCV, then 230K*66K = 15180 Million = $ 15 Billion.

.... Maybe the Australian govt should give a tax rebate to everyone who sources their own treatment? The saving would be massive.

Yeah but there really is no triage going to happen, unless the pbs are lying.
There must be more to this deal than straight pay a set sum per patient otherwise they surely would have triaged.
I guess I won't be able to say for sure, no triage till next week, but so far all the official info is going that way.

Otherwise they will run out of money in 6 months and then have people dying.

I know nothing about the Australian government and the people who run it. So I am ignorant in that regard. Hell, I'm ignorant in most regards.
Can they be trusted to do what they have promised?
The numbers seem hinky.
M

www.pbs.gov.au/info/publication/factshee...tients-and-consumers

Well normally, I'd say no, I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them.
The current lot are almost Tea Party as far as ideology goes.
But this is the official info, and if things go seriously pear shaped now, they are going to have to backflip like a Russian gymnast. So we will see...

I like simple. Simple is an easy word to say and understand. When deals are struck with governments, a simple explanation would be nice. I can't figure out how everyone can be treated on your island/nation/continent for the amount they seemed to have budgeted at the price they seem to have negotiated.
It simply does not compute.
M

Since a week before Xmas I have heard a number of media statements promising something along the lines of 'All patients over 18 years of age will be eligible from the 1st March'. The idealist in me would like that to mean: "All patients will receive treatment within a reasonable time of applying for it."

Hopefully we get some idea of the reality soon.

Trust the Aussie government if you want. However, this was released Thursday;

I don't think even the people who voted for the mongrels actually trust them.

I almost died of shock when they announced they were going to treat everyone, but who knows, it might actually happen, at least in the short term.

Its only really costing them one submarine after all. And its a much better investment.

Scott Ludlum is lovely I have to add!
And so funny.

Brilliant! He'd get my vote any day.

You've gotta hand it to the aussies for knowing how to say it like it is...

I thought Australia has an agreement once so many patients have being treated in year one and
the budget has run out Gilead step in and give treatment free,if this is true the headline price is
not a reflection of how many people will get treated or the end price we don't know how many
will get treated by Gilead as part of this deal.

Now, if I am wrong and the above is way off the mark Australia will have too triage treatment too
F4 and above similar to the rest of the world the budget won't allow everyone too be treated.

Yes. Yes. Too anyone who has paid for generics being compensated we have saved our health budgets
considerable sums, I myself have being in touch with my own health service about this issue.

Here's a point thinking about; Ireland had a budget of 36Million for Hep C DAA treating only F4 and
above ,they have treated every F4 they know of within less then 9 months leading too them lowering the
score for this year I wonder how the rest of the world looks like in terms of F4s.

In the U.S., F-4s generally get approved immediately by private insurers. How Medicare, Medicaid and the VA are responding is a different issue.

"The Turnbull Government has set aside over $1 billion over five years to subsidise a range of breakthrough medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that could all but eradicate Hepatitis C in Australia within a generation.'

So tomorrow is D day! 1ST MARCH, OH AND HAPPY LEAP YEAR TO ALL LEAP YEAR BDAY PEOPLE HAPPY BDAY...

I have been involved in other forum long term since half way through my botched peg/inf, and that forum well, the funding for same was govt based. On there anyone on DAAs like me was shunted off into the naughty corner and I left.
Oh why you ask? because apparently everyone will be handed their script in the entire Aussie population tomorrow...yeah right. I can see it now, a queue of 250k peeps lining up and being handed out tx....NOT.


Call me a cynic, call me a leftie, I don't care, I am real about this...triage that? How the hell.

More the point, one thing that people are happy to overlook is that this 'roll out' was from the onset, in the spectacular speech by Minister Ley, announce OVER FIVE YEARS.

Now how many are not diagnosed and how many more will become infected during this time. I have docs in my fam, and a few mates I surf with who are docs, they are not upskilling the majority are not able to fit it in to their schedule. I am my own GPs first patient and he refers to what I get from my prescribing Specialist in another State and what I learn from Dr J.

The word on the ground is that IVDU and prisoners will be getting this free first, then cirrhotics....who knows the truth?

But tomorrow is the Day! Here is the link to the Govt site, hep Aust...yep apparently tomorrow everyone is going to be given their script !! Fellow Australians do we agree? www.hepatitisaustralia.com/faq-hep-c-treatments

So I will wait to see what happens. It will be VERY INTERESTING.

Let's watch this space huh...

Yes, it will be interesting to see who gets them.
Our Viet Vet friend with the 2 liver transplants with the virus is seeing his liver specialist soon, so I hope ihe gets access to it.
I hope it's easy for everyone to get.

So glad I got my son the generics though, as it's only available for over 18's.

So kids are still suffering on the old Interfirin + Ribas

x