On 28th September there was a two-hour public hearing on the GKV Financial Stabilisation Act. There was much criticism of the federal government’s plans. Parliamentary groups were subjected to questions from experts on the proposed Act.
A primary concern was the two-year increase in health insurance deduction which the general manager of ABDA (Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists), Sebastian Schmitz, explained that this would lead to huge financial burdens on pharmacies and may negatively impact their operation. The remuneration for pharmacies has been fixed for several years and Schmitz argues that measures to increase remuneration and not decrease it were needed. Especially in the wake of inflation, increased wages and rising energy costs.
Another topic covered was the interchangeability of biosimilar. Current draft law says that the G-BA should be given one more year to develop information about the interchangeability of biosimilars. This was agreed by those at the hearing stating that it is important for clear conditions to be agreed upon.
The planned lowering of the orphan drug threshold from 50 million euros to 20 million euros was also criticised with a spokesperson from the association of research-based pharmaceutical companies claiming that it would be dangerous as the care of patients with rare disease is jeopardised. But the G-BA took a different view saying that it would curb drug expenditure without endangering patient care by impeding access to innovative drugs
Sources
- Schmitz: Höherer Kassenabschlag „nicht angemessen und nicht sachgerecht“. https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2022/09/28/schmitz-hoeherer-kassenabschlag-nicht-angemessen-und-nicht-sachgerecht. Accessed 29th September 2022
- Sachverständige kritisieren GKV-Finanzstabilisierungsgesetz. https://www.bundestag.de/presse/hib/kurzmeldungen-912800. Accessed 29th September 2022.