The government has decided on new prices for generic drugs, with most of the prices lower than before.
Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said recently that the government lowered the price of drugs purchased frequently and hiked the prices of those with low production rates.
“Some of the prices have to be increased, if not, producers of [these drugs] will not be able to produce them anymore and the drugs will disappear from the market,” Endang was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.
She added that the price adjustment would not affect those who depend on the government’s health insurance scheme (Jamkesmas) for treatment.
The head of the ministry’s directorate general of pharmacy and health equipment, Sri Indrawati, said the ministerial regulation, which was passed this month, covered the new price of 453 generic drugs.
She said the regulation stipulated that the government lower the price of 106 generic drugs and increased the prices of 33, with other drugs remaining at their previous price.
“Some prices were raised because the previous ones were considered below production cost,” Sri said.
In a release received by news portal detik.com, the ministry called for drug producers and large-scale pharmacies to base their prices of generic drugs according to the pharmacy net price and base the ceiling price on value-added tax.
Pharmacists were also requested to base their generic drug prices on the ceiling retail prices.
However, producers and pharmacists were free to mark up the distribution price, which ranges from 5 to 20 percent, according to the regions in which the drugs are sold.
The generic drugs that will have a price adjustment include ACT malaria drug, magnesium hydroxide, usually taken for gastritis, and painkiller Antimigren.
Earlier this month, the NGO National Health Council reported that generic drugs had become scarce in several regions, with patients complaining they could no longer afford them.
Generic drugs are popular because of their low prices. Some generic drugs cost only half the price of patent drugs.
Currently, most generic drugs are produced by state-owned pharmaceutical companies. (dis)
