Mounjaro, a new weight loss drug, will be available in Ireland from next week but will be unaffordable for many patients as it's only available on private prescription costing over €215 per month. The Drug Payments Scheme, which could cap the monthly cost at €80, is not expected to cover it for all patients. Private health insurers are also not covering the cost.
People looking to access a new weight loss drug that will be available in the Irish market from next week will have to pay for it out of their own pocket – at a cost of more than €2,500 a year. The drug, Mounjaro , is still going through a “value for money” assessment that is not expected to conclude until later this year.
Even then, the man leading that assessment, Prof Michael Barry, director of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE), has expressed doubts that it will be freely available under the Drug Payments Scheme for all patients. This scheme would cap its monthly cost for users at €80. As a result, Mounjaro will be available only on private prescription at a cost of €215 or more a month. That equates to an annual charge of at least €2,580. Patients need to continue taking the medicine long-term in order to avoid the lost weight returning, meaning this will be an annual cost. Private health insurers have in recent years started authorising the cost of certain treatments even where they are not yet available in Ireland to public patients. However, all three major private health insurers in Ireland – VHI, Laya Healthcare, and Irish Life Health – said they would not be covering the cost of Mounjaro or similar drugs. VHI, the largest player, covering close to half of the 2.5 million people covered by private health insurance, said it would not be covering the cost of Mounjaro or similar drugs. Laya Healthcare, the second largest player, said it would not be covering the cost of the drug as it was not administered in a hospital setting. All three drugs are administered by the patient using an injectable pen.The State’s Drug Payments Scheme currently covers the cost of just one weight loss drug – Saxenda – but only to patients with a body mass index above 35 who are also pre-diabetic and at risk of cardiovascular disease. Speaking on RTÉ last week, Prof Barry said he expected that even if the State agreed to pay for Mounjaro, it would come with similar conditions. “I don’t envisage a situation where all patients who would potentially benefit from these drugs will actually be receiving them through the community drug schemes,” he said. “I just think that that would be unaffordable.”
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