Ömer Dinçer: Pharmaceuticals to compensate pharmacy losses

“We have signed an agreement. They [the medicine companies] promised to pay the cost incurred due to the price changes. Every loss related the price change of medicines will be compensated,” noted Dinçer during a press conference yesterday. He also added that if the medicine companies would not pay for the losses, the government would take the necessary steps, saying: “I hope pharmacies will not take their frustration with this agreement out on citizens. If they do, we will abolish the agreement.” The minister stated that the new price list regulations will be approved during the council of ministers meeting on Friday and will be implemented in 2010.

With the new price regulations resulting in the decrease in medicine prices, medicines will be offered for lower prices. In Turkey, where the state is the only authority that sets medicine prices, a reference price is determined in comparison to medicine prices in European Union countries. Before the new price regulations, the prices in Turkey were 80 percent of this reference price. With the new regulations, medicine prices will be 60 percent of the reference price. The minister yesterday underlined that for some medicines the percentage may be 66 percent if it seems necessary. The new regulations will be valid for approximately 3,000 different kinds of medicine in 2010. The minister also emphasized that the ministry will check market prices every three months, and if medicine expenditures exceed global budget goals, the ministry has the authority to adopt further decreases in medicine prices.

It is believed that the new price regulations will be instrumental in helping the state save TL 3.3 billion each year; however, pharmacists claim that TL 800 million of this will be taken from them and demand that medicine companies subsidize the pharmacies’ losses, which has yet to be accepted by the medicine companies. The medicine sector in Turkey has grown by 40 percent in the last two years despite the ongoing global financial crisis.

The deputy president of the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (AİFD), Engin Güneri, stated that the price cut will result in financial losses for pharmacies, adding that the regulations will affect the prices of approximately 3,000 medicines .“Under the new regulations there may be some issues related to offering different types of medicines to patients, which will create lots of problems for people who urgently need medical treatment,” claimed Güneri.

Furthermore, the Social Security Institution (SGK) has announced in a written statement on Tuesday that the institution will “reconsider” contracts with pharmacies that will participate in the one-day closure on Friday to protest the recent decision. “We will reconsider our contracts with pharmacists and civil society organizations that prevent citizens from accessing medicines by closing their doors on Friday. We thank pharmacists who will continue to offer medicine and serve citizens on Dec. 4 as they have been doing for years,” says the statement. Talks with representatives of pharmacies and Labor and Social Security Minister Dinçer have been going on in order to find a resolution for 3,000 of the numerous pharmacies expected to go bankrupt due to the new price regulations after the price cuts.

Akdağ: Pharmacy boycott will not affect medicine supply

Health Minister Recep Akdağ yesterday expressed his belief that the closure of some 24,000 pharmacies on Dec. 4 to protest the reduced medicine prices will not disrupt the medicine supply and will not lead to any major problems for citizens. People will be able to find medicine, adding that he thinks some responsible pharmacists will not participate in the protest.

“Our citizens will continue to buy medicine. The social security system in Turkey is a well-established system. The Labor and Social Security Ministry and the SGK have been working on the problem. I do not think any serious problem will occur,” stated Akdağ in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, where he paid a visit after the invitation of his Uzbek counterpart.