The Federal Ministry of Health has rejected demands from pharmaceutical manufacturers for inflation compensation. “An annual inflation adjustment analogous to the drugs in the price moratorium would run counter to the fixed price system,” said the ministry at the request of WELT AM SONNTAG.
The manufacturers of so-called copycat drugs (generics) had pushed for this because of the sharp increase in the burden of high prices. Since July 1, 2018, manufacturers have received annual inflation compensation for certain medicines. However, this does not apply to so-called fixed-price medicines, for which fixed prices set by the health insurance companies apply for reimbursement. According to industry information, this affects 77 percent of generics.
Meanwhile, the supply bottlenecks for many medicines in Germany are getting worse. According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), 306 medicines are currently not available, including antibiotics, fever syrups and remedies for heart attacks.
An important drug for radiological screening is also affected. The number of bottlenecks has increased again compared to the previous week. At the beginning of next year, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Economics want to present a joint proposal to improve the situation.
From the point of view of the German Association of General Practitioners, the main aim should be to turn away from the cheap principle for medicines: “The primary goal should not be the price, but the security of supply, especially for particularly important substances,” said the first deputy chairwoman, Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth request of this newspaper. The current supply situation with medicines is “tense”.
