by SANDRO BENNUCCI – FLORENCE – «I AM CONFIDENT, I will save about 800 million euros a year for the national health service», smiles Enrico Rossi, Tuscan councilor and coordinator of all the regional health councilors. He argues that his battle to obtain that discounts on generic drugs (those no longer protected by patents, the so-called off-patents) must benefit state accounts and not just pharmacists. On October 15 there will be a new meeting at the national technical table, with the Ministry of Welfare, Aifa (the Medicines Agency), the Regions and the representatives of pharmacists: according to the commissioner, it will be an opportunity "to pass the principle that the discounts from the manufacturers cannot only go to pharmacists, but must save the national health service at least 20%". In recent weeks, the investigation launched by the Florence Public Prosecutor's Office has had a snap with the checks by the Nas carabinieri on how the system of passing from the manufacturer to the retailer works. To assess whether there are criminally prosecutable behavior. In May, in fact, Rossi sent complaints to the Public Prosecutor's Office of Florence and to the Antitrust to report "that pharmaceutical companies were giving pharmacists extra discounts on off-patents, but that the health service was then forced to give refunds at full price". With damage to public coffers capable of approaching one billion euros a year. Rossi also cites the 2001 law, which specifies how the reimbursement is due on the basis of the drug that costs the least. The same complaint was also sent to ministers Giulio Tremonti (Economics) and Maurizio Sacconi (Welfare) who opened a technical table together with Aifa (the drug agency), without however reaching concrete results. Urtofar, the association of pharmacists, claims – also through paid press releases – that the national health service would have paid «on the basis of the reference price and not a cent more». But Rossi insists: «The Ministry of Welfare, Aifa and the Regions are determined to go ahead. On October 15 there will be a technical meeting during which the political profile of the problem will have to weigh. I'm not accusing anyone: I just want the burden of health care costs to be lighter for public finances".
Il Resto del Carlino of 10/10/2008, article by SANDRO BENNUCCI ed. national p. 27
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