Keeping meds affordable for all

Subsidised medicines at all MoH facilities maintained to ease patients’ burden, says deputy minister

Subsidised medicines for patients receiving treatment at all Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities are still maintained so that the people are not burdened with any increase in medicine costs, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni.

He said that prices of medicines in the market are affected by various economic factors such as foreign currency exchange rates, research and development costs and manufacturing problems, which are beyond the control of the MoH.

“To help the government reduce the cost of medicine procurement, the MoH has implemented several measures including procuring medicines on a three-year contract.

“This measure is able to save the government’s cost to get a more stable offer price, as well as to ensure that there will be no price increase within three years.

“In addition, the MoH will avoid recurring costs for procurement purposes such as tender advertising costs, more effective contract monitoring, and avoiding interruption of service supply in the event of a new tender process,” he said during a question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He said this in his reply to a question from Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin), who wanted to know the response of the MoH regarding the predicted increase in the price of medicines and pharmaceutical products by around 5 per cent to 10 per cent, which will put financial pressure on patients and their relatives, especially those suffering from chronic diseases.

Lukanisman also said that in order to reduce the burden on patients seeking treatment at private facilities, the ministry has prepared a price guide for consumers through h ps:// www.pharmacy.gov.my to help

… the MoH has implemented several measures including procuring medicines on a three-year contract. Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni

the public obtain information on prices of medicines.

“MoH has studied the medicine price transparency initiative which requires private health facilities to display prices of medicines, as announced by the Prime Minister on Oct 3 last year.

“This step can increase the people’s access to more competitively priced medicine supplies, and enable the people to know the price of the medicine they have to pay for, and then make a choice according to their respective abilities,”.

Regarding the ministry’s plan to stabilise or reduce the price of medicines for treatments such as depression, leukaemia and cancer, Lukanisman said that these medicines are still distributed free of charge to MoH patients even though the price is controlled by the supplier or producer of the medicine.