Berlin. On the occasion of reports that traffic light groups have reached an agreement to introduce confidential reimbursement amounts, Transparency Germany on Thursday reiterated its general rejection of secret drug prices. “Secrecy should not be allowed anywhere in the EU. “Everything must be done at the international level to ensure that the extremely high prices of recently introduced medicines are objectively justified and verifiable,” the NGO said in a statement.
The German publishing network previously reported that the manufacturer’s option to keep prices secret, planned by the Medical Research Act, will now only apply for four years and not – as originally planned – for the entire period of document protection. Additionally, according to the report, manufacturers who do not want their reimbursement prices to be listed in a generally accessible manner should be required to provide an additional 15 percent discount on the negotiated reimbursement amount.
A corresponding amendment to the Medical Research Act is not yet known. Industry circles say that there is no longer “reliable information” available on the subject. In any case, Transparency comments on the matter as a “rotten compromise at the expense of our EU neighbors.” So far, Germany is “the only EU country where it is still publicly known how much health insurance companies pay pharmaceutical companies for medicines.” If other countries fail to follow this, “pharmaceutical companies will impose higher prices.” (cw)