IIn the fight against delivery bottlenecks for medicines, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is planning significant changes to the price rules for children’s medicines. This should be counteracted in the short term in order to open up a much larger market than today, as ministry circles said on Monday evening.
In the future, up to 1.5 times the “fixed amount” should be paid by the statutory health insurance companies for certain preparations – i.e. the maximum amount that the health insurance companies pay for a drug.
No longer just the cheapest provider
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Tuesday) reported, citing a key issues paper by the ministry, that such better remuneration should not only apply in the short term, but also make children’s medicines more economically attractive in the long term.
This should ensure that no bottlenecks arise. Similar measures are planned for certain cancer drugs and antibiotics for adults. The supply situation should also be monitored more intensively in order to recognize early on which funds could become bottlenecks.
Lauterbach had announced key points for this week to counteract problems with drug deliveries. There were recently bottlenecks in children’s medicines such as fever and cough syrups. Drugs for adults are also affected, such as cancer drugs and antibiotics.
In general, when purchasing medicines, the cheapest provider should no longer be the only option, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported. According to the key issues paper, there should be two contracts for important means: In addition to the cheapest provider from non-European countries, the cheapest manufacturer from the EU should always be taken into account. The order will then be shared.
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