Rolled over price concessions for November 2023 – Updated

Update (13th November 2023):

Following the price change mechanism rules, Atomoxetine 10mg capsules (28) has been removed from the list of price concessions that rolled over from October into November 2023.

For prescriptions dispensed in November 2023, the new reimbursement price for Atomoxetine 10mg capsules (28) is now £50.11 and not £45.59 as previously published.

The following price concessions granted in October 2023 have rolled over to November 2023:

Drug Pack size Price concession
Duloxetine 20mg gastro-resistant capsules               28 £9.45
Etoricoxib 30mg tablets               28 £1.79
Etoricoxib 90mg tablets               28 £2.14
Itraconazole 100mg capsules               15 £9.85
Ketoconazole 2% shampoo            120 £19.40
Memantine 10mg/ml oral solution sugar free               50 £5.49
Metformin 500mg/5ml oral solution sugar free            150 £27.51
Morphine sulfate 10mg/5ml oral solution 300 £5.45
Quetiapine 25mg tablets 60 £1.38
Rosuvastatin 5mg tablets 28 £1.25
Timolol 0.5% eye drops 5 £2.00
Zonisamide 100mg capsules 56 £21.95

As part of the Year 4 & 5 funding settlement for community pharmacy, it was agreed that an urgent review of the price concession setting system would take place. Since this announcement, Community Pharmacy England has been working with Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to determine improvements to the price concession system.

As part of a package of measures developed to improve the price concession system, the DHSC has implemented a process to roll over certain concessionary prices to the following month. From May 2023, the roll over process will apply to any products where agreement is reached on the final prices granted by DHSC for any price concession requests submitted late in the month (on or after the 23rd of the month) by Community Pharmacy England.

Pharmacy owners will be able to see the lines that have rolled over on our price concessions page here. Please note any rolled over prices can be adjusted upwards if we receive reports from pharmacy owners to indicate suppliers’ selling prices have increased. The review can be requested at any point during the month.

One of the earlier changes agreed between Community Pharmacy England and DHSC was that all products granted a concessionary price will be classified as ‘Discount Not Deducted’ for the month(s) in which they are on concession. From 1 April 2023, a new Group Items category has been added to Part II of the Drug Tariff for ‘Drugs for which discount is not deducted’.

A further solution recently announced by DHSC to help improve current the price concession system includes a ‘retrospective increased payment’ which may apply, when appropriate. Further information regarding this concession ‘top-up’ mechanism will be issued once details are finalised with DHSC.

We are continuing to seek further improvements to the price concession system.

FAQs

Q. Are all prices announced on or after the 23rd of the month rolled over to the following month?

No. Prices are rolled over to the following month for products where a price concession request is submitted late in the month (on or after the 23rd of the month) and where the final prices granted were agreed to by Community Pharmacy England. Not all price concessions published late in the month roll over to the following month. This may be either because they were requested prior to 23rd of the month or the final prices were imposed by DHSC.

Q. Can rolled over prices be adjusted after they are published if purchase prices increase mid-month?

A. Yes. Rolled over prices can be adjusted upwards if Community Pharmacy England receives reports from pharmacy owners showing an increase in purchase prices. The review can be requested at any point during the month.

Q. When are rolled over prices announced?

A. All agreed rolled over prices are published on Community Pharmacy England’s website on the first working day of each month. There may be months’ where no prices roll over to the following month either because all concessions were requested prior to 23rd of the month or the final prices were imposed by DHSC.

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