Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions) (No. 2) (Amendment No. 12) (Jersey) Order 2014

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made 29 August 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-S-2014-0113
Decision Summary Title:	DS - Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions)(No 2) (Amendment No 12) (Jersey) Order 2014		Date of Decision Summary:	27 Aug 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Policy Principal		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	WR - Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions) (No.2) (Amendment No.12) (Jersey) Order 2014		Date of Written Report:	27 Aug 2014
Written Report Author:	Policy Principal		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions) (No.2) (Amendment No.12) (Jersey) Order 2014
Decision(s): The Minister made the Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions) (No.2) (Amendment No.12) (Jersey) Order 2014
Reason(s) for Decision: The Health Insurance (Pharmaceutical Benefit) (General Provisions) (No.2) (Jersey) Order sets out the details in respect of the administration of pharmaceutical benefit, including the dispensing fee and the discount applied to remunerate pharmacists under the Health Insurance Law. A previous amendment to the Order created a two tier dispensing fee, with the first 50,000 items dispensed in a 12 month period attracting a higher dispensing fee and a commitment was given to increase the fee paid for tier-1 items (up to 50,000) with effect from October 1st 2014 in line with the Jersey RPI(Y) year to June 2014. This Order thus increases the dispensing fee for tier-1 items from £3.45 per item to £3.51 per item. Amendments have also been made to the discounting scale, reducing the claw-back from 15% to 10% and thereby allowing pharmacists to retain a greater proportion of the discounts they achieve.
Resource Implications: There are no manpower implications in respect of this Order. The cost of the dispensing fees and the pharmaceutical benefit is met by the Health Insurance Fund. The additional cost in the coming year (running 1 Oct 2014 to 30 Sept 2015) to uprate tier-1 dispensing fees and increase the percentage of discount retained by the pharmacists is calculated at approximately £136,200, based on current volumes.
Action required: Policy Principal to notify the Greffe and the Law Draftsman that the Order has been made and to forward the signed and sealed Order to the States Greffe, requesting the Greffier of the States to arrange for the Order to be notified to the States.
Signature:		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):