Changes to the law on reimbursing medicines is illegal claim drug producers

Representatives of pharmaceutical companies are to take legal action in the Constitutional Tribunal against the laws on health insurance and drug reimbursement. The representatives claim that the changes violate the Constitution. Independent companies monitoring the pharmaceutical market claim that, contrary to promises from the Minister of Health, the new rules on reimbursement will hardly have any impact on the price of drugs. "The health fund will be the sole beneficiary and will probably save about zl. 900 million," said Robert Pachocki from the Pharmacists' Chamber of Commerce. The sales of domestic drug producers are to increase by 1%, while the sales of imported drugs will drop by 8%. According to estimates from the Pharmaceutical Companies Association and the Pharmacists' Chamber of Commerce, patients will have to pay on average 60% of the price of prescribed drugs as compared to 56% they paid before the reform. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 2; Rzeczpospolita, p. 1, A5) K.S.