Pharmaceutical firms rejected PM Peter Pellegrini’s demand to cut drug prices
Pharmaceutical firms rejected PM Peter Pellegrini’s demand that they cut the prices of their drugs to the level in the three cheapest EU countries. The Slovak legislation has required this for seven years, but since the initial set-up, the state has not been checking the prices. If drug prices are cut, health insurers would save €50-70m annually. The legislation stipulates that the cheapest drug in a given group carry zero co-payment by patients. If the prices change, many patients would have to either switch to another drug or pay a higher co-payment. This would be unpopular, and the Health Ministry is yet to declare whether it will comply with the legislation and impose the price cuts.
