In order to make children's medicines more available, the health minister wants to increase the prices that manufacturers are allowed to charge for them. The health insurance companies see it as "a Christmas present to the pharmaceutical industry". Lauterbach is unimpressed. The money is there.
The statutory health insurance companies (GKV) have criticized the planned changes to price rules for medicines in the fight against supply bottlenecks. Increasing the fixed amount by 50 percent for certain medicines for children or cancer therapies is "an impressive Christmas present for pharmaceutical companies," said Doris Pfeiffer, head of the GKV umbrella association. "It remains to be seen whether medicines will be delivered more reliably to Europe in the future or whether more will be produced again." Instead of just relying on short-term effects that insured persons would have to finance through their contributions, politicians are expected to take a strategic approach for all of Europe.
Among other things, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to relax low-price clauses in order to make deliveries of important preparations more economically attractive. As can be seen from a key issues paper for a draft law, up to 1.5 times the "fixed amount" is to be paid by the statutory health insurance funds for certain children's medicines in the future - i.e. the maximum amount that they have previously paid for a preparation. The SPD politician also wants to relax discount and fixed price rules for the rest of the market for off-patent drugs.
The pharmaceutical industry welcomed the plans. The ministry has finally recognized that the "main thing cheap principle" has destabilized the supply and is leading to bottlenecks, said the managing director of the association Pro Generika, Bork Bretthauer. This goes to the root of the problem. It is particularly correct for children's medicines, the production of which has recently become uneconomical for companies.
Lauterbach said he expects the measures he has initiated to improve the supply of medicines for children to have rapid success. At a press conference in Berlin that afternoon, the SPD politician was convinced that these "work very quickly". The health insurance company's criticism that he was giving the pharmaceutical industry a Christmas present was rejected by the minister: "I think it's primarily a gift for the children." The money is very well invested. The children would have had to do without a lot during the pandemic. "So it can't be that we can't offer the children the medicines at Christmas time. This money is there. And we will also make it available." Additional costs are to be expected. "But they are not relevant to the contribution rate."
Against the background of a strong wave of infections with scarce pediatric medicines, Lauterbach had announced short-term steps to improve the situation. In addition to the higher reimbursements for manufacturers, there should be bureaucratic simplifications for pharmacies to be able to produce fever and cough syrups themselves and to be able to bill them without any problems. "Pharmacists are encouraged to prepare more preparations themselves. So far, this has rarely happened in Germany," said Lauterbach. He believes that will make a significant contribution to improving the situation.
