Pharmacy: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, why community pharmacies are only re-imbursed for medication after 90 days.
Answered by Department of Health and Social Care
Community pharmacies do not have to wait 90 days for payment for the medicines they supply. Contractors that submit their claims on time for a given month’s activity can receive an early advance payment on or around the 10th of the following month. If they miss the deadline for that payment, they can still receive a later advance payment on or around the end of that month. The final amount due is calculated by the NHS Business Services Authority and paid through a later reconciliation payment.
The Government is committed to ensuring community pharmacies are paid promptly. Under the 2025/26 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework agreement, the Department committed to work with Community Pharmacy England to improve the payment timetable and strengthen contractors’ cash flow. The agreed changes will be published in the Drug Tariff before implementation.
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