Despite frequent complaints about the prices of medicines in Montenegro, none of the individuals, state authorities and non-governmental organizations submitted proposals, suggestions and comments regarding the future law on medicines.
In June of this year, the Ministry of Health sent an invitation to the interested public to get involved in the initial phase of the preparation of the new regulation on medicines, but during the consultations, which lasted for 20 days, no one responded. Just a few months before that, at a protest in front of the Health Insurance Fund, it was announced that we pay draconian drug prices and a monopoly, due to rigged and corrupt laws.
The Ministry of Health, in May of this year, in response to "Vijesti" questions, said that in the coming period, they will work to limit the prices of medicines that are bought in pharmacies, through the amendment of the Law on Medicines, and that a very important factor will be the outcome of the results. public hearings.
From the department he manages Vojislav Šimun At the end of last week, they replied to "Vijesti" that the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Medicinal Products is in the drafting stage, and that there were no subjects interested in participating in the consultations.
"In June of the current year, the Ministry of Health issued a public invitation to the interested public (bodies, organizations, associations and individuals) to get involved in the initial phase of the preparation of the aforementioned law and submit their initiatives, proposals, suggestions and comments, in written and electronic form, to the Ministry of Health , and in accordance with the Regulation on the election of representatives of non-governmental organizations in the working bodies of state administration bodies and the implementation of public hearings in the preparation of laws and strategies. The consultations lasted 20 days, from the day of publication of the public call on the website of the Ministry of Health and the e-administration portal", explained the department.
They said that no initiatives, proposals, suggestions and comments were submitted during the period designated for consultation of the interested public, which was the subject of the Report on the consultation of the interested public.
MPs of the Europe Now Movement (PES) Dane Markovic i Dragana Vukcevic submitted to the Assembly a Proposal for a Law on Amendments to the Law on Medicines, which would legally limit the prices of prescription drugs that are not on the basic and co-pay lists. Minister Šimun also gave a positive opinion on the proposal of two MPs.
"The Law on Medicines prescribes 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 by which the prices of medicines that are not on the list, and whose dispensing regime is on prescription, which has the consequence that the prices of those drugs on the Montenegrin market are significantly higher compared to the prices in the surrounding area", it is written in the opinion of Minister Šimun submitted to the General Secretariat Governments.
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.
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 drugs 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 determined 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 medicines which the state considers not to belong to the corpus of essential for the health of the population (the so-called negative list), and 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 lowering 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.
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