Taxpayers foot ADHD pill bill
By Kelvin Bissett
October 01, 2007 12:00am
THE bill to taxpayers for attention deficit disorder drugs is surging towards $1 million a month as thousands more children are placed on costly tablets added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme this year.
Driving up the cost are three longer-lasting methylphenidate drugs, marketed under the brand Concerta, listed on PBS on April 1.
These drugs generated 7882 subsidised scripts in May alone.
Estimates by The Daily Telegraph, based on Department of Health and Ageing data, show the monthly subsidy for treating ADHD has blown out from about $360,000 in June 2006 to about $900,000 in May this year.
The estimate is based on about 50 per cent of the new scripts being for concession-card holders, who pay just $4.90, with the remainder paying the $30.70 standard PBS payment.
Taxpayers face even bigger bills with yet another drug, atomoxetine, marketed under the brand name Strattera, placed on the PBS subsidised list in July.
Children and adults diagnosed with ADHD have symptoms including difficulty paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours and keeping their thoughts on track.
The Federal Government is subsidising the new drugs despite Prime Minister John Howard in April stating he was "very worried" about the rate of prescription of ADHD drugs.
The Government is also yet to hear from a working party established by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians at its request to devise diagnosis and treatment guidelines.
The Government has announced these guidelines have been delayed until the second quarter of 2008, despite being timetabled for October.
Figures released by the Department of Health and Ageing under Freedom of Information show a total 52,608 scripts were issued in May for all ADHD drugs, up from 48,336 in May 2006.
The medications added to the PBS from April 1 were methylphenidate 18mg, 36mg and 54mg tablets, each marketed under the Concerta brand. The 54mg costing $93.24 per script.
The other two drugs on the PBS, methylphenidate 10mg - marketed as Ritalin 10 - and dexamphetimine sulphate, cost about $22.
Opposition health spokeswoman Nicola Roxon attacked the Federal Government for delays in the guidelines.
"Parents and doctors have been left in the dark for almost two years - and now another delay," she said.
Referring to the fast rising PBS bill, Ms Roxon said that without guidelines "it is impossible to know if this money is being spent wisely".
ADHD expert Dr Jon Jureidini, head of psychological medicine at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, said there was "no good evidence" to support the use of long acting drugs saying they should not be subsidised.