“Small pharmacies warn they will not be able to dispense medicines under the “Affordable Medicines” program, threatening them with license revocationSmall pharmacies warn they cannot dispense medicines under the “Affordable Medicines” program due to new regulations and reduced
markups, threatening them with license revocation. This causes outrage among representatives of small pharmacy businesses, who
declare the destruction of the industry and rising drug prices.
”, — write: unn.ua
Look, on July 1, changes to the licensing conditions come into force, according to which all pharmacy establishments must conclude an agreement with the National Health Service for “Affordable Medicines”. But the problem for small pharmacies is that the state has 100% regulated markups. And if the markup in the pharmacy was 35%, it has now become 19%, we are at a loss
According to her, additional restrictions apply to drugs dispensed under the “Affordable Medicines” program – the markup is limited to 10%, so the average profit level of pharmacies falls even further.
That is, we cannot provide for ourselves the purchase of software, the purchase of medicines that we will have to dispense to the population and wait two weeks for the state to return the funds to us
She reminds that at the beginning of the program’s launch, officials promised that the state would cover the costs of digitalization for pharmacies — however, the promises have not been fulfilled. “They told us that you would dispense (medicines – ed.) electronically, not on paper (prescriptions – ed.)… there would be software, you wouldn’t pay for anything. And then, when these electronic platforms were created, it turned out that we pay for everything,” says Prudnikova.
Another outrage is caused by the financing of the newly created regulatory body, which will fall mainly on the shoulders of businesses. “By 2027, the state is creating a control body, and 70% of the financing of the control body will be paid by businesses, and only 30% by the state. They still want money from us so that we pay for the control body. Because that’s how it is in the European Union,” Prudnikova noted.
She notes that the reform has hit both small and large market players. According to her, the tax situation demonstrates the scale of economic losses. “If pharmacy chains paid 4.5 billion hryvnias in taxes per year, the state lost at least 2 billion hryvnias, because they became unprofitable due to their regulation,” Prudnikova explained.
Separately, she emphasizes that after the cancellation of marketing agreements, pharmacies lost competitive tools, and consumers lost real discounts. The reform, according to her, cut off opportunities for flexibility in the market, and officials – instead of dialogue – are engaged in PR.
Prudnikova believes that the report on “price reduction” in social networks is an attempt by officials to keep their positions.
Let’s addIn general, the triumphant post by Deputy Minister Edem Adamanov regarding the achievements of the pharmaceutical market reform gathered a storm of negative comments from the pharmaceutical community and doctors. The official was pointed out that in reality, medicines are becoming more expensive.
RecallFor more than three months, the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine has been operating under new rules, among other things – the conclusion of marketing agreements between drug manufacturers and pharmacies is prohibited. The changes were introduced to reduce drug prices, but the reality turned out to be the opposite – the cost of drugs did not change, and in some cases even increased.
The position that the marketing ban did not bring the promised effect was recognized even by the Ministry of Health. In addition, patients did not feel a significant improvement either.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health presented a new draft resolution on marketing for discussion. Instead of a complete ban, it is proposed to set limits on the expenses of drug manufacturers for marketing services. According to the updated document, such expenses cannot exceed 20% of the total sales of over-the-counter drugs (excluding VAT) for the previous year. However, the figure of 20% is just a “beautiful wrapper” behind which completely different calculations are hidden – in reality, pharmacies will receive only 3.5% of marketing.
Instead of the expected effect from the innovations, patients face an unpleasant reality: many popular drugs that were not included in the Ministry of Health’s list have become more expensive in recent months. This is especially painful for those who regularly buy several types of medicines – monthly expenses increase, and the promised relief for the wallet has not occurred.
The new attempt to regulate the situation – by a resolution limiting marketing to 20% – looks like an attempt to “save face,” but not to solve the problem. In reality, pharmacies will receive not 20%, but only 3.5% – and this will not allow them to restore discount programs, social projects, and cover logistics costs. Therefore, the issue of price for the patient, as before, remains open.