Arhivă :: Publicaţia 33/2005 :: The Point

Minister Nicolăescu demands that pharmacies decrease the price of medicine

Order nr. 924/2005 of the Minister of Health, Eugen Nicolăescu, became applicable starting with September 16. According to this order, pharmacies must decrease the price of medicine by 7 to 11%. Internal production and imports are targeted, which are listed in the National Price Catalogue of Human Medication with marketing authorization for Romania. This measure was supposed to be applied to drugs that can be purchased based on a medical prescription and not to others such as algocalmin, paracetamol, etc. To check compliance with the order, the Minister of Health, Eugen Nicolăescu, asked the Financial Control Body for help. Thus, betweeen 21-26 September, 40 pharmacies in Tirgu Mureş, Sighişoara, Reghin and Târnăveni were controlled. They are among the biggest pharmacies in the county and the conclusions are that all of them have applied order provisions correctly, modifying the price tags of drugs. But irregularities have been brought to light as regards breaches of the Accoounting Law. 28 fines were applied, totalling RON 22.100. Punishment includes termination of contract with Social Securities or closing of the pharmaceutical unit. Mariana Moldovan, representing the Mureş county pharmacists, declared: " The order is not a good one, while it diminishes our income. We?re crossed now, even it we decreased the added value, producers? prices went up. We believe that the prico of medicine will go up in the future". Eugen Nicolăescu: "It is vital for all sick people to have access to medicine, and by the decrease of prices we are trying to facilitate that. Ensuring medication for all walks of life is one of my priorities as Minister of Health". Medicine prices have dropped, as a result of tax decrease measures on imported goods. The Order establishes a complete modification of import taxes, distribution and pharmacy taxes. For example, the import tax decreased from 15% (in some cases 17%) to 8,5 %.