The average price of drugs has dropped by 53%. The patients’ medical expenses in the past month are now enough to buy one year of medicine.
After purchasing with quantity, how can the price of medicine be squeezed?
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A few days ago, the second batch of state-organized centralized procurement of medicines in various places has landed one after another. The average price reduction of medicines has reached 53%, and the highest decline has reached 93%. Patients have benefited significantly. The forthcoming third batch of volume purchases can still squeeze out how much drug price and moisture, all circles are full of expectations.
Ms. Zhang in Shenyang, Liaoning is a diabetic patient who has been taking the anti-sugar acarbose tablets for a long time. Recently, when she opened the medicine in the hospital, she found that this imported original medicine dropped from 61.29 yuan per box to 5.42 yuan. According to the dosage of 3 boxes per month, "the medical expenses in the past month are enough for one year now."
The reduction in drug prices is due to the second batch of state-organized centralized procurement of drugs in various places. In this centralized procurement, 32 varieties were successfully purchased, with an average price reduction of 53% and a maximum reduction of 93%.
Recently, there is news that the third batch of volume purchases is about to start, and how much more the price of medicine can be squeezed. All circles are looking forward to this.
The medicines that I couldn’t afford can now afford
Centralized drug purchases are like "group purchases", with volume purchases, price exchanges by volume, and negotiations with drug manufacturers to achieve the goal of reducing drug prices and reducing the burden of patients' drug costs.
From the end of 2018, the first batch of 11 cities piloted the procurement of 25 varieties, by September 2019, the scope of the pilot expanded to the whole country, and by the beginning of 2020, the second batch of procurement of 32 kinds of drugs, China's volume procurement continued to expand, The frequency is getting denser.
"The most direct effect is to reduce the burden of patient costs." According to the relevant person in charge of the Joint Procurement Office, among the selected drugs, hypertension, viral hepatitis, malignant tumors and other chronic diseases and major diseases are used for long-term medication. The purchase price of medicines by volume has been significantly reduced, and medicines that were previously unaffordable are now affordable. This is the most direct benefit to the people.
The reporter noticed that compared with the first batch of pilot collection drugs, the second batch of recently selected drugs has a wider field of treatment, including many family standing drugs and chronic disease drugs, including Anrisentan tablets, Tadalafil Film and other non-medical insurance varieties. In the opinion of the industry, this means that the trend of national joint mining has shifted from medical insurance control to the needs of patients.
Previously, because the price of selected drugs in hospitals had dropped significantly, patients were more willing to go to the hospital to buy medicines after purchasing by volume, which reduced the flow of customers and sales at pharmacies. But for patients, buying drugs in pharmacies saves time and effort, and going to the hospital to prescribe drugs is not only personal trouble but also takes up certain medical resources.
In this regard, the second batch of procurement by volume will no longer select some regions for pilot projects. Private hospitals designated for medical insurance and retail pharmacies designated for medical insurance may voluntarily participate in the Procurement Alliance of various provinces, report procurement needs, and implement procurement by volume. At present, Shandong, Zhejiang, Shanghai and other places have issued documents to collect medical insurance medicines from pharmacies into the procurement channels of the medical insurance system.
Squeeze out the price moisture in the circulation of drugs
In the second batch of centralized procurement, the average price reduction of 32 kinds of medicines reached 53%, and the highest reduction reached 93%. Why can drug prices drop so much?
"A considerable part of the price of drugs has a long history of false highs. Some generic drugs have a price level that is more than twice the international price. The cost of circulation links accounts for the main part of the price. This is the main space for the price reduction of centralized procurement." People revealed.
The price of medicine squeezes out so much water, some people worry that the pace is too big, and the market may not buy it. However, judging from the implementation of procurement in the pilot cities, the implementation of volume procurement exceeded expectations.
At Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Liu Lihong, the director of the pharmacy department, told reporters: "We spent about eight or nine months to complete a year of purchases." As of the end of December last year, the average procurement progress of 25 selected drugs in the pilot areas was 183% of the enlarging areas all started to implement enlarging procurement results in December last year, and patients all over the country used high-quality and cheap medicines.
"I hope to increase policy publicity." Liu Lihong believes that more patients should be informed of the benefits of the volume purchase policy, as well as the reduction in drug prices and the replacement of generic drugs will not affect the quality and efficacy of drugs, so that more patients will benefit. .
Next, volume purchasing will be carried out normally. "Not only the country, but also the locals. Not only in the field of medicine, but also in the field of high-value consumables and low-value consumables." According to Ding Yilei, deputy director of the Medical Price and Tender Procurement Department of the National Medical Insurance Bureau, the future Volume procurement will gradually become the dominant model for centralized procurement of medicines.
Customized "red line" for pharmaceutical planning
Concentrated procurement on the premise of consistent evaluation of quality and efficacy will prompt enterprises to return to cost and quality competition. The industry has reached a consensus on this. Some experts said that procurement by volume will promote a substantial reduction in corporate public relations behavior. The competition between enterprises will be transformed into open and transparent product quality and cost competition. The gray operation under the water will be changed to fair competition under the sun, which will help the pharmaceutical industry to be driven from marketing. Change to innovation-driven.
"Centralized volume procurement directly hits the weakness of falsely high drug prices, achieving multiple effects such as lowering drug prices, improving medication quality, and promoting industrial upgrading." Hu Jinglin, director of the National Medical Insurance Bureau, said that more importantly, centralized volume procurement is While reducing the burden and increasing the efficiency of medical insurance, it has created conditions for regulating medical behavior and promoting the reform of public medical institutions.
Practice has proved that the purchase of this "small incision" with concentrated volume can promote this "big reform" of the medical and health system. Hu Jinglin pointed out that the reform of the medical and health system has entered the deep water area. When the tough period of gnawing the bones is to be established, a recruitment policy system of "purchasing with volume as the principle and non-volume procurement as an exception" should be established to continue to promote centralized volume procurement.
At present, the range of drugs purchased in volume is relatively limited, and the high drug prices and commercial bribery still exist. However, supervision has begun to plan a “red line” for pharmaceutical companies through the volume procurement platform.
Not long ago, the National Medical Insurance Bureau solicited opinions on the establishment of a pharmaceutical price and recruitment credit evaluation system, and proposed that pharmaceutical companies should participate in centralized drug procurement and platform online, and should promise not to commit dishonesty. In the event of unfair competition such as pharmaceutical commercial bribery and manipulation of market prices, it will be included in the list of untrustworthy catalogues, and pharmaceutical companies may be suspended from eligibility for drug listing and bidding.
This has attracted considerable attention in the pharmaceutical industry. Because of its heavy punishment, many people in the industry believe that this system "red line" is conducive to curbing the sale of drugs with gold.
Li Danqing