Medicines will be cheaper?

Minister of Health Vojsilav Šimun gave a positive opinion to the proposal of two deputies of the Europe Now Movement to legally limit the price of prescription drugs that are not on the basic and co-pay list of drugs.

Deputies Dane Markovic i Dragana Vukcevic submitted to the Assembly the Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Medicines.

"The Law on Medicines stipulates that the Government determines the criteria for forming the maximum prices of medicines for human use that are in circulation in Montenegro and are on the List of Medicines, but it is not prescribed to determine the criteria for forming the prices of medicines that are not on the list on the list, and whose dispensing regime is by prescription, which has the consequence that the prices of those medicines on the market of Montenegro are significantly higher compared to the prices in the surrounding area", says the opinion of Minister Šimun.

It is stated that the uncontrolled formation of the prices of those medicines which are not on the list, i.e. do not fall under the burden of mandatory health insurance, and whose dispensing regime is by prescription, contributes to the fact that they are less accessible to patients due to their ability to pay.

"Having that in mind, we believe that the Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Medicines, which was submitted to the Parliament by MPs Dana Marković and Dragana Vukčević, should be accepted," reads the opinion submitted to the General Secretariat of the Government.

In May of this year, the Ministry of Health confirmed to the "News" that in the coming period, they will work to limit the prices of drugs that are bought in pharmacies, and not prescribed at the expense of the state budget, through the amendment of the Law on Medicines. From that department, they said that a public debate will be held on the draft law, during which all issues of importance for the field of medicines will be considered, including limiting the prices of medicines that are bought in retail.

"In order to further align with EU regulations, amendments to the Medicines Act will be initiated. As part of these activities, the issue of the prices of drugs that are not prescribed at the expense of mandatory health insurance funds will also be considered... In deciding on the normative regulation of issues of wider social importance, and the area of ​​regulation of drugs off the list is certainly that, a very important factor is also the outcome of the results of the public debate", the Ministry replied.

In June, that department issued a public invitation to the interested public to get involved in the initial phase of the preparation of the law on amendments to the law on medicines. However, it is not known whether the draft amendments to the law have been drawn up because it is not on the website of that department, nor of the Government.

The prices of drugs prescribed and issued at the expense of the Health Insurance Fund - the so-called positive list, are limited by the Regulation on the establishment of maximum drug prices.

The maximum price of these medicines is formed based on the calculation of average prices of medicines in reference countries determined by the state, currently Serbia, Romania and the Czech Republic, in such a way that it can be a maximum of 95 percent of the average price in those three countries for original medicines.

Also, the prices of medicines from the "positive list" are formed in direct negotiations between the manufacturer and the Ministry of Health, and the basic and supplementary list are updated three times a year, including the prices set by the state. The state itself chooses reference countries that it considers to be recognized for affordable drug prices, and as an additional, corrective factor, it is taken into account that countries that have an incomparably larger market than Montenegro, therefore have lower prices.

On the other hand, for drugs that the state considers not to be essential for the health of the population (the so-called "negative list"), and for which citizens pay out of pocket, the prices are determined by the manufacturer, and the corrective factor can be competition, which most often leads to lower prices .

The total consumption of medicines at the expense of the state and from citizens' pockets last year amounted to about 171,8 million euros, which is about 26,3 million more than in 2022.

This is shown in the report on the consumption of medicines for 2023, compiled by the Montenegrin Institute for Medicines and Medical Devices (CInMED) based on data, i.e. reports on the sales of 14 private and one state-owned wholesale drugstore.

According to reports from previous years, the share of medicines issued at the expense of the budget in the total financial expenditure is about 80 percent, while 20 percent is paid by citizens "out of pocket".