The Ministry of Health, headed by Viktor Lyashko, held a meeting with the pharmaceutical sector to discuss amendments to draft law No. 11493. The proposed changes caused a wave of indignation among market participants and experts due to the risk of increasing the price of medicines and creating shortages in the most vulnerable regions of the country.
Main provisions
- Limiting purchases to 20% of the manufacturer's volume
This amendment is intended to prevent monopolization, but in practice it may cause a shortage of drugs. This may be especially critical in frontline areas, where the availability of drugs is already a problem. - Introduction of a single electronic catalog
Although this should increase the transparency of pricing, experts warn of a possible increase in bureaucracy, which will delay the supply of medicines and cause higher prices for drugs due to additional costs for businesses. - Quotas on the supply of critical medicines
Placing restrictions on vaccines, insulin and antibiotics can create supply disruptions that threaten the lives of patients, especially in remote and frontline areas. - Ban on marketing agreements
Manufacturers will no longer be able to provide discounts to pharmacies, which will make it impossible to offer customers favorable prices. Many pharmacies in small towns, where business profitability is low, may close.
The amendments have drawn almost unanimous criticism from pharmaceutical companies, distributors, and pharmacy chains, who say the proposed changes carry significant social risks, from price increases to drug shortages that will hit the most vulnerable segments of the population.
“Instead of improving access to medicines, we may get the opposite effect — empty shelves and queues at pharmacies,” commented a representative of one of the pharmacy chains.
Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko called on market participants to submit their suggestions to the draft law, promising to take them into account in the final version. This position was positively received by the meeting participants, who expressed hope that the interests of the industry and ordinary citizens would be taken into account.
What's next?
Amendments to Bill No. 11493 are just one step in reforming the healthcare system. However, without taking into account the opinions of market participants and a thorough analysis of possible consequences, these changes may have the opposite effect, worsening the availability of medical products for millions of Ukrainians.
