Medical care reform to abolish drug price markups

BEijiNg: Abolishing drug price markups will see outpatient fees fall by about 5%.

Patients in Beijing will soon be spending less money on drugs due to a comprehensive medical care reform covering all public hospitals in the capital.

All medical institutions involved in the reform will abolish price markups, usually at a rate of 15%, on the drugs they sell to patients, starting on April 8, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning announced on Wednesday.

The reform covers more than 3,600 medical institutions in Beijing, including all public hospitals, such as those funded by the government, public institutions, State-owned enterprises and the People’s Liberation Army, as well as some private medical institutions, Fang Laiying, chief of the commission, said at a news conference.

In addition, all medical institutions will purchase drugs from pharmaceutical manufacturers through open and competitive public bidding, so drug prices will be further reduced, Fang said.

With these measures, the price of drugs sold at these hospitals is expected to be reduced by about 20%, said Li Sufang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

It is estimated that the cost of treatment per outpatient will be reduced by about 5%, while there will be an increase in price of 2.5% for inpatient treatment, said Li.

Abolishing drug price markups, which has been a key source of income for public hospitals, has been a major, but thorny, task of China’s ongoing healthcare reform that is aimed at a universal coverage of basic healthcare services.

All public hospitals in China will abolish price markups by the end of this year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China’s top health authority, said earlier this month. — China Daily/ Asia News Network