Switzerland mulls discounts on top-selling drugs to cut health costs

Discounts on top-selling medicines should make it possible to save CHF350 million a year, without affecting the supply of medicines, authorities said. Keystone-SDA

The Swiss parliament is considering limiting the steady rise of healthcare costs by granting discounts on best-selling medicines in the country. The government is now submitting this measure to a consultation process.

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Last year, the federal parliament approved a package of measures designed to reduce healthcare costs, including quantity discounts. On Thursday, the government announced that it had opened the consultation procedure on legal amendments to introduce these measures.

Of the more than 3,000 products on a national list of medicines approved for coverage under basic health insurance, the 80-100 best-selling drugs generate more than a third of the costs of all these medicines combined. This corresponds to CHF3 billion ($3.87 billion), according to the government.

Discounts on top-selling medicines should make it possible to save CHF350 million a year, without affecting the supply of medicines, authorities said. The dispensing of less expensive generics and biosimilars is also among the measures being discussed.

Translated from French with AI/gw

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