SGK to sign medicine supply contracts with independent pharmacists

The SGK is a government agency that provides health benefits and coverage for pharmaceuticals.

SGK Deputy Chairman Fatih Acar organized a press conference yesterday at the SGK headquarters in Ankara. He said the SGK had met with TEB representatives numerous times to discuss problems faced by pharmacists. He stated that the sides reached a consensus on Wednesday on every point and were set to sign the new agreement on Saturday, but TEB decided at the last minute not to. Acar accused the union of needlessly and continuously prolonging the deal. He said starting Saturday the SGK would be negotiating contract terms directly with individual pharmacists. The three-year contracts would be signed online as an e-protocol, he said.

The dispute stems from TEB’s longtime insistence that the government do away with discounts on state-covered drug sales, claiming that the cuts are taken out of pharmacists’ earnings while drug companies double their profits. The government, however, has said it intends to reduce skyrocketing health care costs and slash soaring bills for drugs. Against the backdrop of this disagreement with TEB, the government has initiated a plan to allow 24,000 pharmacies to sign contracts with the SGK directly, bypassing TEB. Some pharmacies do favor the idea of an e-protocol through which they can renew their contracts with the SGK online without paying any substantial fees. Currently pharmacies are charged from TL 250 to TL 500 by TEB to secure the contract with the government. Fearing the loss of government-secured drug sales, many predict pharmacies will welcome the idea of individual deals with the SGK.

Some pharmacies complained that the conflict between TEB and the government is putting many important issues on the backburner. For example, an online provision system that checks benefits against government data has been plagued with problems since its inception.

TEB accuses the government of working on a plan to introduce chain pharmacy stores nationwide. Health Minister Recep Akdağ dismissed this claim earlier this month, stressing that the government has no such plans. Pharmacists also want the government to stop the practice of collecting copayments for privately funded doctor and hospital visits through pharmacies.

When the copayment was initiated, it led to long lines in hospitals in 2005. Instead of collecting copayments at hospitals, TEB and the Ministry of Health agreed to authorize pharmacies to collect these payments. Just like a sales tax, these funds were later transferred to the social security fund.

While TEB wants to keep its role at the bargaining table as the sole representative of Turkey’s pharmacists, it has also met with criticism from its own members. Some pharmacists complain about high membership fees and others say they want to see an end to TEB’s control over pharmacy working hours. Claiming that TEB often finds itself in the middle of political controversies, some members have called for a ban on TEB members entering politics.