Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

NATIONAL HEALTH ACT 1953 - SECT 85B

Section applies if no price agreement

             (1)  This section applies if the Minister and the responsible person for a listed brand of a pharmaceutical item have been unable to make a price agreement for the brand of the pharmaceutical item.

Price determination

             (2)  The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine, by reference to a quantity or number of units of the pharmaceutical item, the amount that is, for the purposes of this Part, taken to be the appropriate maximum price for sales of the brand of the pharmaceutical item to approved pharmacists.

Note:          Division 3A limits the Minister's power to determine amounts under subsection (2).

Claimed price determination

             (3)  The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine, by reference to a quantity or number of units of the pharmaceutical item, the amount that is, for the purposes of this Part, taken to be the price claimed by the responsible person as the responsible person's price for sales of the brand of the pharmaceutical item to approved pharmacists.

Special patient contribution

             (4)  The amount that is the special patient contribution for the brand of the pharmaceutical item is the difference between the responsible person's Commonwealth price for the brand of the pharmaceutical item and the Commonwealth price for the brand of the pharmaceutical item.

             (5)  If the Minister makes a determination under subsection (3), the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine the circumstances in which the Commonwealth is to pay the special patient contribution for the brand of the pharmaceutical item.

             (6)  In this section:

"Commonwealth price" means the Commonwealth price in relation to the brand of the pharmaceutical item.

"responsible person's Commonwealth price" means the price that would have been the Commonwealth price in relation to the brand of the pharmaceutical item if that Commonwealth price had been based on the price determined by the Minister under subsection (3) to be the price claimed by the responsible person as the responsible person's price for sales of the brand of the pharmaceutical item.