A good 300 medicines are currently not available in Germany, including various medicines for children. The Minister of Health wants to combat the shortage with various measures. The most important: The price should no longer be the most important factor in procurement.
In the fight against delivery bottlenecks for medicines, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach 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, according to ministry circles. 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.
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” 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.
The SPD politician Lauterbach had announced key points for this week in order to counteract problems with drug deliveries at short notice. 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, the cheapest provider should no longer be the only option when purchasing medicines, 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.
The professional association of paediatricians had warned a few days ago that the announced legislative initiative was coming too late. Association President Thomas Fischbach called for a “political-driven procurement campaign” like at the beginning of the corona pandemic.
