What we are proposing as reforms on the topic of drug prices are two significant changes in the law. We believe that we will force all medical institutions, including private ones, to start conducting public procurement under the Public Procurement Act, which is currently not happening. The second thing we plan to do and which is also a topic for wide public discussion is the centralized negotiation of expensive drugs that are outside the Positive Drug List of the Health Insurance Fund. With these changes, we aim to make the public financing of the relevant private structures much more transparent. He announced this to Lili Marinkova in the “FACT“ studio and the “Conversation“ show Dr. Georgi Petrov (left), MP from “Progressive Bulgaria“.
“Every change has its advantages for some and disadvantages for others. However, we are determined to undertake something that has been awaited for about ten years, and we are pleased that it is finally being done. If this were a reform that brings positives for everyone, it would have been implemented a long time ago. We heard the opinions of several professional organizations, including the Bulgarian Medical Union, which has its concerns. That is why we are presenting these ideas even before they are submitted to the committee. There is a sufficiently long period of discussion ahead, in which we can hear all opinions and accept the best proposals, so that Bulgarian citizens do not feel disadvantaged and we can improve the quality of healthcare“, added the MP.
“First of all, I would like to say that perhaps the most regulated sector in our country is precisely the pharmaceutical sector, along with banks. What does this mean? There are very clear and detailed criteria for what the markups of the individual participants in the chain are - wholesalers, marketing authorization holders, manufacturers and pharmacies. In addition, we have state regulation and continuous monitoring of price movements. Bulgaria is among the countries with the lowest drug prices in Europe. What we are talking about right now is a market of about 100 million euros, while the entire pharmaceutical market is approximately 1.3 billion euros. That is, we are discussing a relatively small part. The most serious distortions are in a very niche group - drugs for rare diseases, which are extremely expensive and are not paid for by the National Health Insurance Fund, but are financed from the budget of the Ministry of Health. It is there that serious price deviations have been established and it is not correct for this to continue in this way. Two or three companies will probably be affected, but no more. It bothers me when people say that there are major abuses in drug policy. No, there are none. This is an over-regulated sector. The problem is in one specific segment, for which the European Commission in 2018, then in 2019, and subsequently in 2024 again drew attention to the fact that certain gaps exist in Bulgaria. But I emphasize – this is a small part of the entire pharmaceutical market“, added Dr. Petar Velev, manager of “Ecopharma“.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.