BERN – With 99 votes to 67 and two abstentions, the National Council adopted a motion this morning which forces the Federal Council to review its recent decisions to bring down the price of medicines. For the majority of deputies, the pharmaceutical industry must enjoy greater prerogatives. The Council of States has yet to pronounce.
The text, drawn up by the National Commission for Social Security and Health (CSS), calls for greater collaboration between the Federal Council and the pharmaceutical industry. It instructs the government to find, together with the insurers and drug manufacturers, a "consensual solution concerning the examination of the economic nature of medicines", explained Ignazio Cassis (PLR/TI) on behalf of CSS.
On 21 March, the government revised the methods for comparing the tariffs of Swiss medicines with those applied abroad. Comparison with equivalent products was limited. It will only happen if the Swiss medicine is not available in the comparator country, which is rare.
Cassis recalled that the motion was drawn up in the midst of the economic crisis when the pharmaceutical industry had to deal with a significant drop in turnover due to the collapse of the euro against the franc. The majority of CSS do not understand the "lonely path" chosen by the government in the face of the desire of industry and health insurers to seek consensual solutions.
A minority opposed increased support for the pharmaceutical industry in vain. Jacqueline Fehr (PS/ZH) provocatively asked whether an industry which offers very high salaries to executives, whose turnover is growing and which pays substantial dividends to shareholders really needs help from the state.
News of 09/27/2012 – business.tio.ch
