"We ask the government not to implement in the 2010 Budget the requests for further cuts to pharmacies made by the Regions. Our coffers are empty and it cannot always be thought that they are available to those public administrations that are not able to manage the accounts of the sanitary system."
The president of Federfarma, Annarosa Racca, thus comments on the rumors about yet another hypothesis of a reduction in pharmaceutical spending.
"I would like to point out – continues Dr. Racca – how the NHS approved pharmaceutical expenditure is today at the same levels as in 2001, while other items of expenditure in the health budget are in continuous and uncontrolled increase".
"The pharmacies' margins in particular suffer the costs of repeated interventions, reduced by continuous scissors cuts. There is a concrete risk that the stability of the capillary network of pharmacies will be jeopardized. Pharmacies are today in serious difficulty and with other cuts they will forced to reduce expenses, up to the point of staff layoffs."
"The pharmacies – concludes the president of Federfarma – are asking the Government and Parliament to apply the same rigor to other health sectors that until now has only been applied to approved pharmaceutical expenditure and to ensure that pharmacies can continue to guarantee the excellent levels of services that have always been offered to citizens."
Federfarma press release – 01/12/2009
