Health insurance funds have to pay more and more for medicines
The statutory health insurance funds (SHI) in Bavaria are spending more and more money on medicines in the outpatient sector. Since 2010, the gross turnover per SHI insured person in Bavaria has increased by 60.5 percent to 711 euros in 2022, the state association of company health insurance funds announced in Munich on Monday. In total, this amounted to 7.99 billion euros last year. Nationwide, expenditure in the same period climbed by 53.2 percent to 743 euros per insured person - 54.1 billion euros in total. This trend will continue in 2023 and probably also in 2024, it said. Regulations in the pharmaceutical market are therefore necessary.
"The massive cost increases for very high-priced, patent-protected medicines are placing an enormous burden on the SHI system and thus on contributors," said Ralf Langejürgen, Chairman of the Board of the BKK Landesverband. "Legislators are called upon to regulate the prices of new products in particular more strictly and to reduce the extensive exceptional privileges in the pharmaceutical sector."
Almost 90 percent of people in Bavaria are covered by statutory health insurance. Drugs that are frequently prescribed for diabetes, high blood pressure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among the drivers of expenditure.
Due to the rising costs of medicines, particularly high-priced, patent-protected ones for diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, social affairs become increasingly strained. The continuous trend of high expenditure on medicines highlights the need for stricter price regulations and reductions in exceptional privileges in the pharmaceutical sector.
Source: www.dpa.com
