KREMMEN (dpa-AFX) - In view of sharply rising drug costs, statutory health insurance companies are pushing for rapid cost containment. From 2012 to 2024, annual spending in the medical practice sector rose by 29 billion euros to 56 billion euros, said Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis, deputy head of the umbrella organization, in Kremmen, Brandenburg. The number one driver is the market for new drugs with patent protection.
Stoff-Ahnis said that the association is interested in genuine innovations and improvements in healthcare. However, she added that statutory health insurance spends far too much money on active ingredients with no proven additional benefits. This is due to statutory pricing regulations, which do not initially provide for any benefit assessment procedures for drugs for rare diseases.
To curb costs, the health insurance association is calling for a reduction in VAT on drugs to seven percent, among other measures. In the long term, there must be a full benefit assessment for drugs for rare diseases as well. For new cell and gene therapies, peak prices currently range from two to four million euros per patient per treatment. /sam/DP/mis
