DocMorris is finally subject to the discount dispute

Federal Constitutional Court upholds verdict of the Federal Social Court
Karlsruhe (jur). In the dispute over the manufacturer discounts for pharmaceuticals, the Dutch mail order pharmacy DocMorris is now inferior. With a decision published on Monday, April 11, 2016, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe confirmed the dismissive case law of the Federal Social Court (BSG) in Kassel (Ref .: 2 BvR 1305/10).

(Image: Andrzej Tokarski / fotolia.com)

The manufacturer discount was introduced in 2003 to relieve the health insurance companies. It used to be six, meanwhile 16 and today five percent of the manufacturer's price. The discount is not paid directly by the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Rather, the health insurance cut the bills of pharmacies accordingly, the pharmacies then get the money back from the manufacturers.

The exact settlement have pharmacies and health insurance agreed in a framework agreement. Participation in the contract was and is, in the opinion of the manufacturers, a condition for reimbursement of discounts.

However, DocMorris initially did not sign up to this contract and did not catch up until November 13, 2008. Since 2010, the participation of foreign pharmacies in the framework agreement has also been regulated by law.

The reason for joining DocMorris was a first defeat in the discount dispute before the 1st BSG Senate (Judgment of 28 July 2008, ref .: B 1 KR 4/08 R). Without the framework agreement as a legal basis, the mail-order pharmacy could not claim money against third parties, namely the manufacturers. The 3rd BSG Senate joined the multiple (last judgment and JurAgentur-message of 24 January 2013, ref .: B 3 KR 11/11 R).

Against one of these decisions (specifically against a BSG judgment of 17 December 2009, Ref .: B 3 KR 14/08 R) DocMorris appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court. The discount is prescribed by law. In addition, the BSG should have asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg whether foreign mail-order pharmacies should be excluded from the manufacturer's rebate.

With its decision of 24 March 2016, which was now published in writing, the Federal Constitutional Court did not even accept the complaint for decision. DocMorris has contracted with the health insurance companies on the deduction of the manufacturer rebate. The company can not derive any rights against the manufacturers. EU law was not violated. This was so "obvious" that a submission to the ECJ was not necessary. (Mwo / fle)