Salut claims 526 million from the cartel of companies that agreed on the prices of diapers for adults

BarcelonaThe Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) is demanding compensation of 526 million euros from the companies that for years agreed on the sale prices of diapers for adults, a product that in pharmacies is subsidized by the Social Security for patients with incontinence I would urinate This is the first time that a Spanish public administration has claimed damages for the action of a business cartel, Albert Poch, a lawyer at the Redi law firm, which advises the Department of Health body on damage claims, explains to ARA .

The claim of 526 million euros comes after the courts have confirmed the million-dollar penalty imposed by the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) in 2016 on seven companies and the Spanish Federation of Health Technology Companies (FENIN) for having designed a structure to fix the sales prices to the wholesale distributors of this product sold through pharmacies, in a period that goes at least from December 1996 to January 2014. According to Poch, they acted “as one company” with the objective whenever the prices of these health products went up, and they even coordinated to make it difficult to tender for the products. Among those convicted are Laboratoris Indas, Hygiene Products, Barna Import Médica, Tèxtil Planas Oliveras SA and Cotons del Bages, while Procter and Gamble, another of the manufacturers, ended up being exempted from paying the fine because it disclosed the ‘existence of the pact.

During the 18 years that the cartel lasted, the Department of Health pocketed around 300 million euros, which, added to the 200 million in interest for the price update, add up to the 526 million claimed.

Precisely, this Wednesday the Catalan Competition Authority has urged the administrations to claim damages caused by anti-competitive conduct, as they have a “very significant” economic impact on the public sector. According to the OECD, the lack of competition increases contract prices by 20%.

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