The draft amendment to the reimbursement law, which the Council of Ministers adopted on 27 October, provides for reducing patient co-payments for medicines manufactured in Poland by 30% instead of the current 15%. This does not mean that the prices of all domestic medicines will fall.
The draft was submitted by the Minister of Health. According to a statement from the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, it is meant to strengthen Poland’s medicine security, support domestic pharmaceutical production and speed up patients’ access to therapies. It contains nearly 200 changes. Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said after the Council of Ministers meeting that this is “a big step towards strengthening medicine security and lower drug prices”. We have already reported on the adoption of the draft after the government meeting.
Where the 30% applies
The reduction applies to a medicine manufactured in Poland from an active substance that is also manufactured in Poland, and to a medicine intended for such manufacturing. In such cases, the patient’s co-payment is to be reduced by 30%. Today the discount is 15%. The final co-payment depends on the reimbursement rules for a specific preparation, so not every Polish medicine will become 30% cheaper.
National List of Critical Medicines
The draft provides for the publication of a rationalised National List of Critical Medicines. It will cover active substances of particular importance for the country’s medicine security. Companies producing in the country are to receive more administrative exemptions and incentives to move production to Poland. Data cited with the draft indicate that the country currently produces 24% of the 301 critical medicines.
Other changes in the draft
- The Minister of Health will be able to call on companies to submit reimbursement applications where there are unmet health needs.
- Digitisation of the target import procedure, i.e. importing medicines from abroad that are not available in Poland.
- Participation of patient organisations in price negotiations.
- Earlier preparation of drug programmes so that patients can use benefits from the first day a reimbursement decision takes effect.
- A mechanism rewarding, among others, hospitals for using cheaper therapies of comparable effectiveness.
- Removal from reimbursement of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and prescription medicines with an OTC equivalent, except for therapies longer than 30 days – according to industry descriptions of the draft.
The draft has been sent to the Sejm; the Sejm website has already published the Health Committee’s report on the government’s draft amendment to the act on reimbursement of medicines.
