Cynthia Busuttil
Government threatens to import medicines
'We will not accept price control'
Medicine could be bought directly by the government if importers stop bringing over products issued with a price order after being deemed too expensive.
"If we have a situation where an importer says he cannot bring over a particular medicinal product at the price established by the price order, then the government can choose to source the medicine itself," Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said.
In the Budget for 2010, Mr Fenech announced that medicine prices found to be too high would have to be reduced, with the current voluntary mechanism being turned into a mandatory one unless an alternative system was introduced.
Medicine importers reacted negatively to the announcement, saying they would not accept an imposed reduction in prices. "We never accepted price control in the past and neither will we accept it in the present or in the future," said Reginald Fava, who chairs the healthcare business section of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, which represents importers, distributors and retailers.
The government is determined to forge ahead with the system. "In circumstances where there is no justified reason for the cost not to go down, the government can impose a price," Mr Fenech said, adding that the EU allowed governments to issue a price order in the case of medicines.
He said the system would not be taken lightly and, before issuing a price order, the government had to ensure it was capable of importing a medicine at that cost. "If the government is capable of sourcing a particular medicine at a lower price, then the importer can surely do so as well," he argued.
"This will not be a case where every morning the minister will wake up and issue price orders. But in circumstances where there is no reason why the price of an important medicine is not going down, then the government should have the right, as granted to it by the EU, to impose that price," Mr Fenech said.
Back in 2006, the government had set up a working committee on the pricing of medicinal products to devise a system that would ensure medicine prices were fair. Importers were asked to lower the prices of medicines found to be higher than the average in a number of countries, unless they could justify the price level.
Mr Fenech said the structure was working and there were a number of importers who had agreed to lower the prices of medicines when these were deemed to be too high. The prices of 61 products had in fact been dropped as a result of the voluntary system over the past three years.
But Mr Fenech said there were other importers who refused to adjust their price, even when they did not have a justified reason.
"We intend to be very careful and only use price orders when they are really needed. We expect serious importers to be on the government's side because they do not want to be associated with anyone who is abusing. We should not allow anyone to abuse because by doing so they give a bad name to the whole sector," Mr Fenech said.
He said the authorities were also looking into the possibility of setting up reference pharmacies, which sold medicines imported by the government, as happened in other countries. "This does not mean we will be going for this system but it is another option," he said.
Two readers of The Times recently complained that they had bought medicines abroad for a much cheaper price than they had purchased them here. One said he bought 30 fungal infection pills locally for €104 but found them at a third of the price in London. Another said he bought medicine that cost €13.08 here for €5.23 from Lisbon.
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M.Caruana
Nov 27th 2009, 08:15
@Joe Grima
Between your (party & yourself being in the executive) track record and what Mr. Martinelli is stating, most fair people can easily subscribe to his views. So there might be more people enjoying Mr. Martinelli's views and company than you might have wanted to alledge.
You might want to try and see the difference between blanket price control and selective price abuse control.
Some medicines importers are clearly abusing. I order most of my medicines (including vitamins etc..) from the internet (check them out yourself - you've got a computer thanks to the PN government not MLP I suppose) and you'll see for yourself that for selected (but large group) of pharmacy items (which includes medicines and other things) prices can be as 30-40% lower (sometimes more if you buy in bulk) (this including postage and packing to malta).
Control of Prive ABUSE (especially on items that hit the vulnerable) is different from the 70s/80s blanket price control and restricted import licenses.
j grech
Nov 26th 2009, 22:49
i am uk born and live in malta to obtain an inhaler by nhs in uk it cost £6.50=euro6.00 approx to buy direct at cost price privetly £4.25 also there are certain inhalers and medicines i take and cannot obtain here in malta and doctors are prescribing me the alternatives, but these are old fashioned and i was taken off of them 9 years ago and then they have the cheek to say my c.o.p.d is not under controll well who`s fault is that? and i thought malta did not have the death sentence any more so just for once goverment which ever party you are get off your backsides and put those actions where your mouth is.
John Caruana
Nov 26th 2009, 22:38
I think Mr Fenech is taking a simplistic view of the situation. Price controls and government intervention will only result in shortages and/or poorer quality medicines. If the government is serious about keeping medicine prices as low as possible, and convinced that there is a problem in this area, it should identify whether there are any barriers to competition, and whether there is evidence of collusion between medicine importers, and then enact measures to address these factors.
Mario De Bono
Nov 26th 2009, 22:34
The Government has been warned. Touch pharmacies at your extreme peril. The Government that issues price orders will have no hope of re-election next term. Thats a certainty. No retailer, be he who he is in whatever sector, will trust the PN again. Ever. its as if the mother turns against her own son. By issuing price orders it is proving Mintoff right. Is this the PN ? Who has hijacked it?
Joe Grima
Nov 26th 2009, 21:02
It's that Martinelli again. No argument will convince you Mr Martinelli so enjoy your own company and convince yourself with your own arguments.
JF Vassallo Ebejer
Nov 26th 2009, 20:36
This is just empty posturing. Government is so indebted to its friends within the business community that it cannot take any serious action, even if it wanted to.
Kevin Farrugia
Nov 26th 2009, 18:30
Is this another attempt by a Nationalist MP to win sympathy from prospective voters?
I also would like to invite readers of this article to check their sources if it is really the case that in Malta medicine sell higher when compared with other countries because they are very wrong.
Some medicines my be cheaper because on every price there is a re-imbursement scheme in place. Popular OTC products in the UK are twice the price of those found in Malta!
Finally some word of advice- for those who cannot afford to buy medicines please apply to participate in the available POYC scheme where you will not only enjoy reduced prices but you get all your medication free including any ancillary stuff such as surgical spirit, cotton wool and even vitamin supplements like the many thousands of participants who are already enjoying taking everything free to the expense of the honest tax payer!
MBorg
Nov 26th 2009, 17:42
Something must be done to bring down the price of medicine in this country. Why is it that we hve to pay more for everything? It is not only medicine that is more expensive, but also white goods, TVs, Mobile phones,computers, clothes,shoes, cosmetics etc, You name it, we pay more for it.
c. camilleri
Nov 26th 2009, 16:29
We have had enough of talking. Now is the time for action. Issuing of price order is the best thing for the Govt to do. We cannot remain in the present situation where medicine brought from a neighbouring country is half the price of Malta. Time to act now.
Joseph Calleja
Nov 26th 2009, 16:26
If the government is paying for the medicines to issue to Maltese citizens, why isn't the Maltese government buying these medicines wholesale and cut out the middle man. The government can be saving millions of euros and invest those euros in Mater Dei upkeep etc. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech, now there is an idea you can live with. Maybe make up some of the money the Maltese citizen lost in the Vat scandal, the dockyard scandal, the business rental scandal and so on.
Paul Ciantar
Nov 26th 2009, 14:47
we support you mr minister
n xuereb
Nov 26th 2009, 13:40
Please go ahead and import the medicines. We are tired of spending so much when we know something costs much less.
James Grech
Nov 26th 2009, 13:37
I'm quite perplexed at this decision. On the one hand Gov is saying that it will instill a mechanism that will protect the citizen from overpricing (such mechanism I would presume will leave a healthy competition to take place as Dr. Gonzi himself stated that he will never think about controlling). On the other hand it seems that his minister is now threatening this particular sector by allowing his government to become itself a competitor in this scenario. Government should decide what it wants to achieve once and for all and then move accordingly. The issue of healthy competition should be the main target (in all sectors). Gov should identify why this is not working in Malta, refactor the present system by weeding out abuse and provide a means through which customers can have justice.
J Martinelli
Nov 26th 2009, 13:14
@ Joe Grima
The last persons on earth to complain about the Nationalist Opposition of the 70s and 80s are indeed the likes of you who were Ministers in that era.
This government is trying to control prices ONLY when they are abused. The Socialist governments of the 70s and 80s tried to control everything including a can of tuna! The result? It could not guarantee an orderly supply of foodstuffs and other necessities and the public had to wait, sometimes for weeks, for the next consignment to arrive! Your governments banned imports of 'luxury' items, banned colour television sets and only opened the door ajar when your colleagues were reported watching their own colour sets!
Now, you say, "I don't agree with Government taking on business activities that can be done by the private sector, unless for a very specific, narrow, temporary and important reason such as this one". How specific, temporary, narrow and important were the reasons for the Socialists' total control?
In the Socialists' times, total State controls were in place because Malta did not have enough foreign currency with which to trade and resorted to begging foreign aid and had nothing to do with consumer empathy!
Charles Zammit
Nov 26th 2009, 12:52
If Mr. Fenech really means what he says and he is really ready to do it then I am sure he would find the majority of the people behind him. John the citizen has no one to protect him and complaints about high prices of medicines are not rare at all. The government should go ahead with the plans as explained by Mr. Fenech. Capitalising on health is also immoral besides the fact that it adds to the cost of living.
Rather than advising the governement what to do in the case of pharmacy of your choice Mr. Fava would be more correct to look around him and ensure that no skimming takes place in medicines. Remember we are not dealing with luxury goods here. Profiteering from medicines is immoral.
sandro pace
Nov 26th 2009, 12:52
Well done to the government.
If the market is working well, prices would be more or less like those in the mainland. But they are not, indicating that the market in this essential necessity is way out. There is nothing wrong with the government intervening this way, in order to bring prices to what they normally should be.
The price difference mentioned is way too high to justify anything. If true, charging Eur104 for what is Eur30 in London, is pure leeching. The government's pre-electoral promise of reasonable and comparative medicine prices has still not materialised. The government has the duty to implement this system, and offer medicines at a moral price.
L. Coleiro
Nov 26th 2009, 12:02
The Government has the right and "OBLIGATION" to see that consumers are not being abused.
....... and if you ask me this is probably the first time ever that i agree with Tonio Fenech.
Maria D.Sacco
Nov 26th 2009, 11:52
For some years now I have been taking a particular pill which costs the equivalent of Lm5.00 (yes five Malta pounds). Lately I found a particular chemist who was ready to offer a slightly reduced price, BUT he seemed to be afraid of being "discovered" by some other pharmacist. I remember the same scenario during the seventies and eighties, when another popular pharmacist (God rest his soul) used to sell medicines below the normal price. He was continuously harassed by other pharmacists and there were times when they made his working life a hell on earth. Pharmacists deserve their legitimate profit, BUT they also have to assume a conscientous business conduct. Medicines are not taken as if one were pursuing some luxurious aesthetic body or face-lift.
O. Calleja
Nov 26th 2009, 11:32
A right step taken at the right time . A line needs to be drawn. The recurring cost of exhorbitant medicines, some of them amounting to hundreds of euro a month cannot be born by the ordinary citizen. Extreme cases require ... extreme medicine. Nothing to do with Marxism, Labour, left, right or centre. Foraying into cheap politico-philosphical vagaries does not pay anyone's bills.
Joe Bugeja
Nov 26th 2009, 11:32
At last a laudable initiative from the Hon. Tonio Fenech !
H Agius
Nov 26th 2009, 11:03
what about Cars, computers, houses, flights, garments etc etc I would like to have lower prices too.
N.Lawrence
Nov 26th 2009, 10:45
Government threatens to import medicines---
Stop THREATENING and DO IT.
joseph saliba
Nov 26th 2009, 10:39
Please, those mp's who screeched about the high price of local medicines, will you speak out. Dr. Michael Farrugia where do you now stand? For Tonio or for Reginald or somewhere in between? What?! Where?! Nowhere?!! Do I hear right?!!
H Agius
Nov 26th 2009, 10:20
The medicines in Europe are reimbursed by their governments . That is why they are different. Patients pay part of the cost of the medicine in some countries - the rest is paid/subsidised by their gov.
Can we not study these systems and implement what is good for us?
jon farrugia
Nov 26th 2009, 10:16
I would also suggest to the present government to open 'reference pizzerias, reference ironmongeries, reference butcher shops, reference legal aid, reference restaurants etc etc' why not ? everything is free with the government paying for everything ala Marxist society
John Gauci
Nov 26th 2009, 10:14
I do not agree with Mr. Fenech on many of the things he does, but with this he has managed to gain my respect. Of course, we have to wait and see whether this is just plain talking or whether it will be followed up by action, but a big "well done" will definitely be due if he goes ahead with this.
Joe Grima
Nov 26th 2009, 10:04
For all the criticism of Government involvement in business activities, spearheaded by the Nationalists in the 70s and 80s, against Labour Governments bent on sefguarding prices and on preventing the fleecing of an unuspecting general public; for all the spectres raised by the then Opposition of the diseappearancve of Malta's business class; Tonio Fenech is now threatening importers to do precisely the same - using Government clout to import medicines directly removing the importer form the game. Tonio should know that he has all of the public's support in this way of bringing medicine importers to their senses and, if they persist, to their knees, in the public interest. Today I don't agree with Government taking on business activties that can be done by the private sector unless for a very specfic, narrow, temporary and important reason such as this one. However, the Maltese adage, Min Imaqdar Irid Jixtri has never been more appropriate than in this case .
H Bonello
Nov 26th 2009, 10:01
I think its best the government pays medicines importers what it owes them, for many many years!
And buying directly means paying up front! What is the government going to do? Try pay after 150 days with no interest?
This is a government who is really detached from its people and its businesses! They have no clue! Every medicine needs to be registered - a cost imposed by the Malta Government.
If the government imposes registration costs and then never pays the importers, how does the government expect business to pay their employees? Wake-up Tonio!
PN are more socialists then the Labour opposition!
emmanuel zammit
Nov 26th 2009, 09:29
THE GOVERMENT SHOULD DO SOMETHING WITH FACTS NOT TALKING...
THIS DAYS EVERY ONE TRAVEL AND CAN SEE WITH HIS HANDS...
WE ARE THE LESS PAYED IN WEST EUROPE AND WE ARE THE MOST THAT PAY!!
HOW YOU EXPECT THAT PEOPLE SAVE MONEY?INVEST?OR THEY OPEN THERE BUSNIESS WITH SUCH THINGS......
J. CAssar
Nov 26th 2009, 09:29
Good move ! Time to stop the profiteering. Banks should be the next on the government's list for taking similar pro-consumer action in the quest to check abuse by those enjoying market dominance.
joe scerri
Nov 26th 2009, 09:23
It is a well known fact that not only medicines are more expensive here but practically everything else. I have made it a point to buy everything over the internet whenever it is practically possible. I have already saved hundreds of Euros in the process. Consumers have been fleeced for far too long now. I do not agree with price controls but in this matter I support the Government irrespective if its Blue, Red or Pink.
Anthony Mercieca
Nov 26th 2009, 09:21
An option would be that a controlling unit in the pharmatecual industry, appointed by some Legal Notice with clear directions to maintain medicine standards and quality, would promote and offer on behalf of patients, to purchase cheaper medicines over the internet
edward bartolo
Nov 26th 2009, 09:17
Why are you calling it a "threat"?! The government has the duty to protect the citizens, especially the ill.
Are the private importers afraid of the government competing with them?! Competition my foot!