Federal Council to take action against drug wastage
Published: Wednesday, Dec 11th 2024, 13:10
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The Federal Council has received a mandate from Parliament to take action against the wastage of medicines. For example, when setting drug prices in future, it should be taken into account whether there is a risk of waste due to the pack size.
On Wednesday, the Council of States tacitly adopted a corresponding motion by the National Council's Social Security and Health Committee (SGK-N). The National Council had already approved the three points of the motion in May.
Parliament also wants factors such as dosage strength or pharmaceutical form to be taken into account when setting drug prices.
Medical professionals should also be given the right to import medicines from abroad if pack sizes, dosage strengths or dosage forms are approved there that are more suitable and cheaper than the alternatives available in Switzerland. These medicines would have to be reimbursed by insurers.
The Federal Council was in favor of adopting the motion. Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said in the Council that ten to twenty percent of the contents of the pack are not used. This corresponds to a very high value. In the National Council, Baume-Schneider had spoken of 300 to 600 million francs. The proposal will be submitted to the national government for implementation.
Second motion adopted
Also on Wednesday, the Council of States, as the second chamber, adopted a motion by former Aargau Central National Councillor Ruth Humbel entitled "Stopping the waste of medicines". The Federal Council must now submit a report on the exact extent of the phenomenon and propose measures to combat it.
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