Published 18 July 2023
Last updated 4 December 2023 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded
Download the full outcome
Review of the scheme to
control the cost of branded health service medicines:
consultation response
Detail of outcome
There were 102 responses to the consultation from a range of
stakeholders across the UK.
The majority of the respondents thought that the government
should maintain the policy of broad commercial equivalence
between the voluntary and statutory schemes. However, the
majority disagreed with the proposals related to allowed growth
rate and payment percentages, and for a life cycle adjustment.
Having considered these consultation responses and wider
engagement with key stakeholders, the UK government has therefore
decided to:
- continue to operate the statutory scheme in a way that is
broadly commercially equivalent to the voluntary scheme
- set amended payment percentages for 2024 to 2026 based on an
allowed growth rate that has been increased to 2%
- implement an exemption from payment for medicines containing
a new active substance
- include exemptions from payment for exceptional central
procurements and centrally procured vaccines
Upon consideration of consultation responses, the government has
decided not to implement the proposals for a life cycle
adjustment in the statutory scheme.
However, we intend to consult on alternative proposals to
maintain broad equivalence with the terms agreed in the
2024 voluntary scheme for
branded medicines pricing, access and growth for setting
statutory scheme payment percentages in a way that distinguishes
between medicines at different stages in the product life cycle.
Detail of feedback received
A summary of responses received is contained within the
government’s consultation response.
Original consultation Summary
This consultation considers the proposed review of the statutory
scheme to control the cost of branded health service medicines.
This consultation ran from
2pm on 18 July 2023 to 11am on 10 October 2023
Consultation description
The statutory scheme is set out in legislation in the Branded Health
Service Medicines (Costs) Regulations 2018 (the regulations).
It is one of 2 schemes, alongside the 2019 voluntary scheme for
branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS),
that control the prices of branded medicines to the NHS. The 2019
VPAS
agreement expires at the end of 2023.
The Department of Health and Social Care is negotiating to agree
with industry a successor to VPAS
to take effect from 1 January 2024.
The government is proposing updates to the statutory scheme to
make sure that the scheme can continue to meet its objectives
from 2024 onwards, whether this is alongside a successor
voluntary scheme or as a standalone scheme in the absence of
this.
The consultation sets out proposed amendments in 3 main areas:
-
increasing the allowed growth rate, which will have the
effect of changing the payment percentages
-
revising which sales of branded medicines are exempt from
scheme payments
-
a new approach to control spending on older branded medicines
(the ‘life cycle adjustment’)
Documents
Proposed review of the
2023 scheme to control the cost of branded health service
medicines
