Drug expenditure reaches a new record high in Germany

Drug expenditure at record high: Doctors and health insurance companies demand consequences
In the past year, pharmaceutical spending in Germany for health insurance funds rose to a record high. As a reason for the increase, experts call expensive drugs for diseases such as hepatitis C or cancer.

Drug expenditure has risen to record high
Although doctors in Germany are prescribing more and more medicines, but as has recently been reported, in some cities significantly fewer pills are prescribed than in others. Nationwide, the drug spending of health insurance have increased dramatically in recent years. As the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) reports, they were in 2014 at a record high of 33 billion euros and in 2015 rose again by about five percent to about 35 billion euros. Accordingly, cost drivers are in particular expensive innovative medicines for hepatitis C and combination therapies for cancer.

The medicine expenditures of the health insurance companies reached record high in the past year. (Image: Gina Sanders / fotolia.com)

Doctors in the dilemma
According to the TK-notification, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, patients and health insurances have long been demanding that the drug market reorganization law (AMNOG) and thus the results of the early benefit assessment must arrive at the doctor's office. "At present, some patients are not receiving new therapies fast enough, others are receiving expensive supplements that have no added benefit," said Tim Steimle, Head of the Department of Pharmaceuticals at TK, at the Pharma 2016 in Frankfurt. "We therefore hope that the decisions of the Federal Joint Committee will be more closely involved in the prescription decision." Taking into account the results of the early benefit assessment in the medical guidelines would not only help physicians to choose the therapy, but would also influence the pharmaceutical industry's impact on health care Counteract guidelines. "The doctor is currently in conflict. He should take into account the guidelines, which often give a different recommendation than the early benefit assessment, "says Steimle.

Health insurance meets the industry
If the pharmaceutical company can not demonstrate any added benefit compared to older comparator therapies for a new drug in the context of the early benefit assessment, it must not yet pay a higher price for it. Under no circumstances should this regulation be shaken, according to TK. A relaxation of this price anchor would lead to further overspending of the health insurance companies. "These will probably also be reflected in a higher contribution rate," Steimle said. According to her own statements, the TK advocates that the prices of medicines that could not prove their added value remain secret, at least in part, until proof of the added benefit, and thus comes in handy against the industry.

Avoid unnecessary market withdrawals
The goal is to avoid unnecessary market withdrawals to the detriment of the patients with the help of the secret discount. Because a public discount in Germany cost the industry in other countries money because the prices abroad are often based on the German market. Although many patients may already be prepared for the new drug, the manufacturers are withdrawing the drug from the market in Germany as a result of the low price. TK has yet another point of criticism: "We see no sense in the fact that the pharmaceutical companies in the first twelve months, the price of a new drug may set themselves and the cash must pay them - regardless of whether it can prove an added benefit later or not , This only increases the incentive for manufacturers to generate as much turnover as possible, ie large numbers of patients, in the first year after market access, "Steimle explained. (Ad)