Exchange Rates Are Not the Cause of 500% Price Increases for Some Drugs | Supply of Rare Psychiatric Medications From This Country

A member of the Parliament Health Committee said that currently the number of medicinal items in shortage is fewer than 100, but even a shortage of a limited number of drugs can be problematic for patients who need specific medications.

A member of the Parliament's Health Commission said: Currently, the number of pharmaceutical items has a deficit of less than 100 items, but it should be noted that the shortage of even a limited number of drugs can cause problems for patients who need special drugs.

According to Arjan's ambassador, Mansour Alimardani, a member of the Health and Medical Commission of the Islamic Council, in an interview with Khaneh Mellat reporter, referring to the decrease in the number of medicinal items in shortage in the country, said: Currently, the number of medicines that are facing a shortage has reached less than 100 items, although there is still a shortage of certain medicines and necessary measures must be taken to supply them.

decrease in working capital; Factor affecting drug shortage

He said that one of the factors affecting the shortage of drugs in pharmacies is the reduction of their working capital and added: One of the main problems of pharmacies is that the insurance companies have not paid their claims for a long time, and on the other hand, the increase in the price of drugs has caused the capital needed to supply and maintain drugs to increase.

Alimardani continued: When the demands of pharmacies from insurances are not paid, their financial ability to buy medicine again decreases and they cannot prepare and stock the required medicinal items in their pharmacies as in the past, and in such a situation, even if the medicine is available in the country's supply chain, the patient may face a shortage due to the limited liquidity of the pharmacies.

unpaid insurance claims; The main factor in reducing the financial resilience of pharmacies

A member of the Parliament's Health and Medical Commission stated: The decrease in the financial resilience of pharmacies is one of the important factors that should be taken into account in the investigation of the reasons for the shortage of drugs. Sometimes, in order to provide working capital and continue their activities, pharmacies are forced to sell some drugs freely or refuse to accept insurance because they need cash to buy drugs again, and if the payment of claims continues to be delayed, it becomes difficult for them to provide this cash.

This member of parliament emphasized: Therefore, the shortage of medicine should not be limited to the amount of its production or import, but the financial situation of pharmacies and the way they pay their claims also play a role in people's access to medicine, and if patients' access to medicine is to be improved, the financial problems of pharmacies and their accumulated claims from insurance companies should also be taken into consideration.

The number of medicinal items has a deficit of less than 100 items

Alimardani also said about the difference in the statistics announced about the shortage of drugs: Currently, the number of pharmaceutical items has a deficit of less than 100 items, but it should be noted that the shortage of even a limited number of drugs can cause problems for patients who need special drugs, therefore, in addition to reducing the number of items with shortages, it is also important to provide stable drugs needed by patients.

import of raw materials from India; A point of hope for the supply of psychiatric drugs

The representative of the people of Abhar, Khorramdara and Soltanieh in the 12th parliament, referring to the import of pharmaceutical raw materials from India in recent weeks, added: With the arrival of this shipment, some of the problems of providing psychiatric drugs will be solved, and it is expected that the access to some of these drugs will improve.

The member of the health and treatment commission of the parliament said about the 100 to 500 percent increase in the price of some drugs: In the budget of 1405, the currency required for drugs, pharmaceutical raw materials, powdered milk, and consumables are considered with the same amount as the preferred currency, and neither the amount allocated for the drug has changed nor its amount has been increased.

He added: Last year, about 3.2 billion euros were allocated for medicine and medical equipment, and the same amount is expected this year. Also, at the current stage and after about 6 to 7 months of the year, the amount of currency allocation and supply is also mentioned in proportion to the same period; Therefore, there is no clear reason for increasing the price of active pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs that enter the country in full, just based on the change in the allocated exchange rate.

The necessity of separating prices based on the type of production to identify the factors of high prices

Referring to the difference in the cost structure of domestically produced drugs, Alimardani continued: In the production of some drugs, raw materials are imported from abroad, but another part of production costs is related to internal factors such as labor wages, transportation, packaging and other materials used in the production process, which are not necessarily subject to preferential currency; The increase in the cost of these parts can affect the final price of the medicine. For example, when the price of a medicine is around 2 thousand Tomans and after the increase in production costs, it reaches 10 thousand Tomans, and its price increase is equivalent to 400% in terms of percentage, but the base figure and the actual cost increase should also be considered.

The member of the Health and Medical Commission of the Parliament reminded: Of course, the multifold increase in the price of medicine is significant for the consumer and its reasons must be carefully investigated. It is necessary to distinguish between imported medicines, domestically produced medicines with imported raw materials, and medicines whose production costs are mostly domestically, in order to determine which factor caused the increase in the price of each item of medicine.

Poor liquidity of pharmacies makes it difficult for patients to access

He emphasized: In order to reduce the problems of people's access to medicine, in addition to providing raw materials and continuing production and import, the demands of pharmacies from insurance companies should be paid on time so that it is possible to resupply drugs and maintain their inventory. Because the lack of liquidity of pharmacies can make it difficult for patients to access even when part of the drug is available in the supply chain.