2024-07-16 06:53:11
LZR was one of the eight health care organizations in Latvia, which, taking into account the attitude of the Ministry of Health and the chaotic, unassessed and uncoordinated initiatives with the industry, invited Prime Minister Evik Siliņa to a meeting the previous week. Instead of meeting with the Prime Minister, LZR received an invitation to a meeting with the Minister of Health and representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office late on Friday afternoon, but the meeting time was set for Monday morning. This indicates that the dialogue and cooperation with the industry is being imitated and that neither the Ministry of the Interior nor the Prime Minister aim to work on long-term solutions in the regulation of drug prices, but to implement short-term politically advantageous promises.
“On Friday evening, the ministry electronically sent an invitation to a meeting on Monday morning, supposedly to discuss the concerns expressed by various organizations. However, the meeting once again proved that neither the ministry nor the minister is ready for a substantive conversation, but the reform is based solely on political promises. At Monday’s meeting, the ministry was also unable to show any calculations, risk assessment or specific solutions that would help prevent them. The dialogue is authoritative and formal, which is confirmed by the fact that the prime minister did not participate in solving such an important issue. It is clear that the purpose of this conversation was to “put a check mark” so that later it could be said that the ministry has invited the industry to a conversation, but forgetting to add deadlines and solutions,” emphasizes Raina-Dūreija-Dombrovska, executive director of LZR.
LZR has previously expressed the opinion that the drug price reform proposed by the Ministry of Health and Minister of Health Hossam Abu Meri is being rushed, and consultations with representatives of the healthcare industry are formal, not with the aim of discussing, understanding the specifics of the industry and agreeing on the best solutions in essence. The industry has also made specific proposals, but they are not listened to and evaluated.
R. Dūreija-Dombrovska reminds that the availability of medicines is a very important issue for the general health, resilience and safety of society, so changes must be balanced and justified. As 94% of the Latvian pharmaceutical market is made up of medicines from foreign manufacturers, when implementing the proposals of this reform, the risk of running out of medicines increases both in everyday life and especially in emergency situations. In addition, the reform will hinder patent-free medicines and their registration on the Latvian drug market, thus reducing the opportunities for patients to buy cheaper medicines compared to original preparations. It will be a particularly painful “blow” for local pharmaceutical manufacturers, which are currently rapidly developing their portfolio specifically in the generic product segment.
“If we talk about the beneficiaries of this reform, we currently see only one – large foreign companies. They produce mostly original preparations, and therefore these companies have a very big advantage in determining the price and their profitability is significantly higher than other members of the system. Undeniably, it is much easier for international companies, whose profits are measured in billions of euros and whose medicines and their prices are protected by patents, to adapt to changes in the market,” emphasizes R. Dūreija-Dombrovska.
In the opinion of the association, the rationale for the price reform is based on assumptions that are based on incomparable quantities. The offer of the Ministry of Health envisages making the manufacturer’s price of compensable medicines in Latvia equal to the prices of Lithuania and Estonia, but even now in these foreign markets, the manufacturer’s prices for a number of medicines are more expensive than in Latvia. Also, when evaluating this offer, one very important aspect must be taken into account, that is, both neighboring countries have a much wider list of reimbursed medications and state budget financing in the compensation system, which reduces costs for consumers. Therefore, in this situation, Latvia has to compare the prices of compensable medicines in other countries with the non-compensable ones in our country, which basically creates contradictions when prices are compared in one or the other country.
In order to promote the physical and financial availability of medicines in the long term, in the view of LZR, the price reform should also provide for VAT equalization for medicines, which is the highest among the Baltic States and one of the highest in Europe, as well as the list of compensable medicines should be expanded.
2024-07-16 06:53:11