Czech Republic to cut drug prices as an anti-deficit measure

2009-10-01

The Czech government intends to reduce the prices of reimbursed medicines, along with reimbursement levels, in order to deal with the growing deficit in the state finances. The reduction is one of the measures contained in the government’s draft anti-crisis package, which will now be debated by the Czech parliament.
If approved by parliament, a 7% price reduction will be in place for a period of one year. It will apply to reimbursement levels and to the maximum amount a manufacturer can charge for these reimbursed drugs, the prices of which were not evaluated in 2008, when the country introduced a new reimbursement system.
The government has admitted that this is an extraordinary step, but one which will enable the country to preserve the financial stability of the obligatory health insurance system.
The government draft also proposes a price reduction for reimbursable generics. The maximum amount a manufacturer may charge for the first generic added to a given therapeutic group will have to be 25% lower than that of its reimbursed innovative equivalent – at present the requirement is 20%. Subsequent generics added to the group will have to be a further 10% cheaper.
In addition, the government has also decided to expand the range of vaccines covered by the obligatory health insurance scheme, by adding to the inoculation list a pneumococcal vaccine for children, the cost of which parents currently have to cover from their own pockets.