The Federal Council's plan to fix the price of medicines does not please the pharmaceutical industry, which instead fears a price increase. Employees are demanding wage increases
The pharmaceutical industry strongly opposes the Federal Council's plans for a new system for fixing the prices of medicines, which has been under investigation to date. The drug manufacturers are accusing the Federal Department of Home Affairs (DFI) of having focused only on reducing prices and of not keeping the promises made in 2013 against their claims. They threaten further appeals against the new regulation. Insurers, on the other hand, fear exactly the opposite: an increase in prices.
The Association of Pharmaceutical Companies in Switzerland (vips) and the Association of Swiss Pharmaceutical Industries Practicing Research (Interpharma) define the revision project as "inappropriate" and "damaging both from an economic and social point of view". In their opinion, the government proposal "aims, once again, exclusively at reducing prices".
About two years ago, the Federal Council changed the drug pricing system: to determine the prices of the original preparations reimbursed by the compulsory health care insurance (AOMS), reference is made to the costs abroad, whereas previously they were compared also with equivalent products (cross-therapy comparison). The change had been criticized by the industries active in the sector.
Adjustments are now being proposed to accommodate the pharmaceutical industry. As regards the comparison with other countries, the Confederation plans to expand the basket of countries considered, adding Belgium, Finland and Sweden to the prices charged in Denmark, Germany, Holland, Great Britain, France and Austria. To work out the new system, the head of the DFI, Alain Berset, organized three rounds of meetings with pharmaceutical industry associations, insurers, consumer organizations and the Price Supervisor. The government project is expected to come into force in 2015.
Now the pharmaceutical companies say that, compared to what was promised in 2013, no more weight has been given to the cross-treatment comparison in the context of the three-year price controls.
Sara Käch, spokeswoman for Interpharma, told the ATS that the comparison with equivalent therapeutic products is taken into consideration "only when further pressure can be put on prices". Interpharma therefore requests that the cross therapeutic comparison have the same weight as the comparison with prices abroad. “The new legislation is even worse than the one against which pharmaceutical companies have already appealed in the past. And more will follow if the main points are not changed,” added Käch.
Expanding the comparison with other countries by adding Belgium, Finland and Sweden will only contribute to further lowering the price level in Switzerland, says a joint statement by vips and Intergenerika (the Association for the promotion of low-cost generic drugs). According to Interpharma, the introduction of the new basket will lead to a reduction in prices of 140-150 million francs over three years.
For comparison: Novartis alone made a net profit of 8.35 billion francs in 2013 and 5 billion in the first half of this year.
The association of health insurers santésuisse has a completely different point of view, according to which, taking into consideration also Belgium, Finland and Sweden, countries that are "generally more expensive" than Switzerland, the costs of medicines should instead increase. Santésuisse and Curafutura (CSS, Helsana, KPT/CPT and sanitas) ask the government to also take into account important trading partners and tourist destinations of Switzerland for the price comparison: for example Italy and Spain.
Health insurers also demand that drug prices be reviewed every year, not just every three. Indeed, a medicinal product must meet certain economic criteria at all times.
The request is also supported by the Price Supervisor, Stefan Meierhans.
Swiss employees due to salary increases in the MEM and pharmaceutical industries
29 JULY 2014 – SWI SwissInfo.ch
Productivity is growing and the economic situation is booming: it is therefore right that employees also take advantage of it. The Swiss Employees organization is convinced of this, and hopes for next year a salary increase of 2.3% in the pharmaceutical industry and 1.7% in the mechanical, electrotechnical and metallurgical (MEM) industries.
“Today there is absolutely nothing that stands in the way of an adequate increase in employee wages,” says the director of Employees Switzerland Stefan Studer, quoted in a statement.
The federation – which brings together around seventy workers' associations representing 20,000 members in the two sectors in question – underlines how the economic research institute Bakbasel forecasts growth rates of 3.2% in the pharmaceutical sector this year and 3 .6% in 2015, while in the MEM segment the expected expansion is respectively 1.6% and 2.6%.
Productivity also continues to grow, argues Swiss Employees, and there is still a shortage of skilled personnel: this situation is not likely to change soon, in light of the approval of the initiative on mass immigration. Meanwhile, the pressure associated with the strength of the franc has clearly eased. And finally, the payroll adjustments in recent years have been modest: real increases have only occurred thanks to negative inflation.
Employees in Switzerland observes that growth is also involving other economic branches, such as insurance, information technology and banks: salaries should rise in these sectors too.
In the light of the favorable prospects, generalized increases are also being requested. Particular attention should be paid to women's wages: according to the organization it is reprehensible that in the 21st century female workers continue to earn less than their male colleagues.
A hot topic also remains free movement. For Swiss Employees there is no doubt that immigration has slowed down the evolution of average wages. As a countermeasure Studer therefore calls for more transparency on remuneration.
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