There is a ‘haircut’ in the cost of expensive medicines

By Vicky Kourlimbini

At the gates is, according to information from the field of pharmacy, major changes in the prices of medicines, especially expensive preparations for serious and rare diseases, which as everything shows will be reduced.

The reason for the changes being prepared by the Ministry of Health and which are expected to be announced immediately to the pharmaceutical companies operating in Greece, is the fact that the public pharmaceutical expenditure has escaped once again, both in terms of sales made through the channels of pharmacies and hospital preparations.

The management of the pandemic that has lasted for two years, the entry of new drugs in the Greek market for chronic diseases, combined with the aging of the population are the main reasons that the costs of the drug once again went out of control.

The hole in spending is growing

Annually it is estimated that the cost of consuming drugs in Greece rises up to 5% each year. The numbers speak for themselves. With a “closed” budget of two billion euros for drugs that circulate through pharmacies, the overrun last year amounted to 850 million euros, according to the report. Respectively big is the “hole” for the medicines of the hospitals. With a ceiling of 520 million euros, the overrun is estimated at around 500 million. Officially, there is still no data on the course of spending on medicines in the first two months of 2022, but pharmaceutical companies estimate that the climate has not been reversed.

In addition to reductions in the prices of medicines and expensive treatments, the monitoring of prescriptions by doctors is always in the forefront.

The Minister of Health Thanos Plevris is expected to be present today at the cutting of the New Year’s pie of the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies of Greece and the companies in the area are waiting to hear the context of the announcements.

The “weight” in the private sector

The latest data for the Greek pharmaceutical market (2020) show that the total outpatient pharmaceutical expenditure amounted to 3.9 billion (of which only 2 billion are public funding), while public outpatient pharmaceutical expenditure was significantly reduced by 61 % in the period 2009-2020. At the same time, the burden has shifted to the private sector, with most of it being borne by the pharmaceutical industry, through the mandatory refunds it pays.

In terms of public hospital pharmaceutical expenditure, in the period 2012-2015 it reached approximately 760 million. From 2016 onwards, with the implementation of the closed budget, it decreased significantly by 18%, resulting in the participation of the pharmaceutical industry with 598 million in 2020.

The significant reduction in the contribution of the public sector to pharmaceutical expenditure has resulted in a shift to the private sector, where by 2020 the share of patients in outpatient pharmaceutical expenditure will reach approximately 636 million euros and industry to 1.3 billion, while in hospital pharmaceutical expenditure industry participation amounts to 483 million euros.