The results of the seventh batch of national centralized drug procurement were released, and drug prices dropped by 48% on average.
What benefits does the drug price "slimming" bring to patients?
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The results of the seventh batch of national centralized drug procurement were released, drug coverage was further expanded, and drug prices fell more rationally.
The state's "group purchase" trades volume for price, squeezes out the water in drug prices, and brings real benefits to patients.
In the opinion of the interviewed experts, the purpose of centralized procurement is to allow the majority of patients to buy good medicines with consistent evaluation at a lower price, but it is not to reduce prices blindly, but to achieve multi-party cooperation between patients, medical insurance funds, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals. win.
31 treatment categories, 60 kinds of drugs were successfully purchased, with an average price reduction of 48%... Recently, with the release of the results of the seventh batch of nationally organized drug centralized procurement, the price of "one drug" has once again touched people's hearts.
Since 2018, my country has carried out 7 batches of national centralized drug procurement, covering a total of 294 kinds of drugs. The average price of drugs has dropped by more than 50%. The first six batches of centralized procurement have saved more than 260 billion yuan in medical expenses. It will save 18.5 billion yuan.
This time, the national centralized procurement has further expanded the coverage of drugs, and the reduction of drug prices has become more rational.
Squeeze water in exchange for price, "slim down" the price of medicines, and reduce the burden on patients. This is only one aspect of centralized drug procurement.
The price of "one medicine" involves the interests of patients, enterprises, hospitals, and medical insurance funds. The centralized procurement of medicines is also like a stone thrown into the lake, which continues to stir up layers of ripples.
Behind the mild decline
The drop in drug prices directly affects the patient's "money bag". Every time the national drug "group purchase", the drop figure has attracted much attention.
Compared with the average price drop of 53% in the first six batches of the national centralized drug purchase price, the average decline of 48% in this centralized purchase is relatively mild.
Jiang Changsong, assistant to the president of the National Medical Security Research Institute and director of the Price Recruitment and Procurement Office, analyzed that, on the one hand, after multiple rounds of centralized procurement, the quotations of enterprises have become more rational, and the varieties of "floor prices" quoted are less and less, and more It tends to obtain reasonable profits and expectations; on the other hand, the centralized procurement carried out by inter-provincial alliances, regional alliances, and individual provinces are all in progress. After being squeezed once, there is not much room for price reduction.
In this regard, Yao Yu, deputy director of the Cultural Behavior Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and professor of the School of Economics of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also expressed similar views.
"Some of the drugs selected in the centralized procurement may not be produced by the factory, but may be produced by OEM. Therefore, it is also necessary to leave a premium space for potential risks such as rising raw materials and rising OEM costs." Yao Yu added that in order to avoid the occurrence of centralized procurement of drugs The phenomenon of supply interruption requires sufficient price space for enterprises.
In the opinion of the interviewed experts, the purpose of centralized procurement is to allow the majority of patients to buy good medicines with consistent evaluation at a lower price, but it is not to reduce the price blindly, but to achieve the goal of achieving the benefits of patients, medical insurance funds, pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals. A win-win situation for all parties.
It is foreseeable that after multiple rounds of centralized procurement squeeze out the inflated water of drug prices, the price reduction of centralized procurement will be weakened in the future, and the raw materials, technology and manpower required for the production of generic drugs will become the price determining factors.
"Double supply in one province" guarantees drug supply
This centralized collection of drugs involves 31 treatment categories, including not only drugs for common and chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, anti-infection, and digestive tract diseases, but also drugs for major diseases such as lung cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, and bowel cancer, reducing the burden on patients. obvious.
Among them, taking the first-line targeted drug lenvatinib capsules for liver cancer as an example, each capsule has dropped from an average of 108 yuan to an average of 18 yuan, and a treatment cycle can save 8,100 yuan.
In the field of blood pressure lowering, for the first time, sustained and controlled release dosage forms were included, the price of nifedipine controlled release tablets was reduced by 58%, and the price of metoprolol sustained release tablets was reduced by 53%.
The antiviral drug oseltamivir for the treatment of influenza has dropped from an average of 4.5 yuan to 1 yuan per tablet.
During the interview, many hypertensive patients mentioned to the reporter that after the drug price "slim down", the drug cost has been saved a lot, and it is hoped that the drug supply will be more secure.
The reporter searched and found that due to various reasons, the selected enterprises in some areas had indeed cut off their supply in the previous rounds of centralized procurement.
It is precisely in order to ensure the stable supply of drugs for centralized procurement, this centralized procurement first introduced a mechanism for supplying enterprises to explore the realization of "double supply in one province".
Specifically, each province has not only one selected enterprise, that is, the main supplier, but also one standby enterprise.
In the event that the selected varieties cannot be supplied in sufficient quantities in a timely manner or the qualifications for the selection are cancelled, the agreement cannot continue to be fulfilled, and the selected enterprises in the province where they are located shall supply the corresponding selected varieties, which is equivalent to providing double insurance for the stable supply of the centralized procurement varieties.
In Yao Yu's view, the mechanism for preparing supply enterprises will also put some pressure on the winning bidders and urge them to better fulfill their supply targets.
In addition, in order to avoid the phenomenon of companies taking advantage of policy loopholes and speculating to obtain higher bid prices, the centralized procurement also introduced the "inter-product circuit breaker" rule to compare the price differences of different varieties at the same level, effectively controlling the price difference of the selected products. around 3 times.
Get through the "last mile" of landing
After the centralized procurement of medicines squeezes out the water by exchanging the quantity for the price, the patients who want to buy and use the centralized procurement drugs depend on the "last mile" of the centralized procurement - hospitals and doctors.
Wang Jia (pseudonym), a doctor in the pharmacy department of a tertiary hospital in Beijing, told reporters that after the state started centralized procurement, in addition to promoting the rational use of drugs in the hospital and ensuring the safety of patients' drug use, her and her colleagues' responsibilities also added another content - to ensure that The selected drugs should be used first, and the rational drug needs of patients should be guaranteed.
According to the data of the National Medical Insurance Bureau, the seven batches of centralized procurement have accounted for 35% of the annual drug consumption of medical institutions, and centralized procurement has become an important mode of drug procurement in medical institutions.
Wang Jia said frankly that there are indeed some patients who have the mentality of "you get what you get for every penny" and worry that after the price of medicines drops, the quality will not be guaranteed.
"This requires the hospital to introduce the centralized procurement policy to patients, explain that the state has very strict requirements for the quality and efficacy of shortlisted drugs, and allow patients to voluntarily replace it."
Jiang Changsong said that after the centralized drug collection, at least 80% to 90% of the selected drugs with a generic name passed the one-time evaluation of the drug regulatory department, which actually greatly improved the level of patients' medication and expanded the availability of drugs. and sex.
"Drugs are cheaper after centralized procurement, but patients can't use them casually." Wang Jia said that with the implementation of centralized drug procurement, the management of drugs in clinical use needs to be strengthened to ensure standardized drug use and prevent drug abuse.
Previously, the National Medical Insurance Bureau stated that it would guide localities and selected enterprises to implement the results of the selection together with relevant departments, so as to ensure that patients across the country can use the selected products after the price reduction of this centralized procurement in November this year.
Up to now, Guangdong and Tianjin provinces and cities have launched the seventh batch of preliminary work on the implementation of centralized procurement.
Our reporter Wang Weiyan