Statutory health insurance expenditure on medicines declined in the first nine months of 2011

11.11.2011 10:50

Compulsory discounts from service providers are already approaching the 3 billion mark

Frankfurt, November 9, 2011. Expenditure on medicines and test diagnostics for the entire GKV market (GKV: statutory health insurance) in the first nine months of 2011 amounted to almost 22.3 billion euros at pharmacy sales prices (AVP). The compulsory discounts to be paid by the pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as the discounts from the pharmacies to the GKV have already been deducted here. Savings from discount contracts and patient co-payments are not taken into account.

Compared to the first nine months of the previous year, there was a decrease in expenditure of 2.7%. Sales by packs increased slightly by +0.7%. Excluding vaccines, which are recorded by the GKV via another cost center, the expenditure amounts to 21.6 billion euros with a decrease of 2.5%.

Compulsory discounts from service providers are approaching the 3 billion mark

The declining development is explained by increased manufacturer compulsory discounts (130a Para. 6 SGB V) as part of the AMNOG (Law for the Reorganization of the Pharmaceutical Market). In addition, there is a price moratorium set until 2013.

The increased discounts from service providers have resulted in the resulting savings volume in the first nine months of 2011 already approaching the 3 billion mark (2.8 billion euros).

Since 2011, wholesalers have also had to grant a discount of 0.85% on the selling price of the pharmaceutical company (ApU). This reduces the pharmacy purchase price (AEP) and consequently also the pharmacy sales price (AVP). The discount that pharmacies give to statutory health insurance companies per pack prescription medicines have been increased from 1.75 euros to 2.05 euros. This means that manufacturers, pharmacies and wholesalers alone shoulder a savings contribution of 13% of GKV pharmaceutical expenditure, with the lion's share going to the pharmaceutical industry.

Larger packs of prescription medicines prescribed

Even though hardly any more medicine packs were sold over the pharmacy counter in the first nine months of 2011, there were at least +4.8% more large packs (N3) of prescription medicines prescribed. However, the prescription of medium (N2) and small packs (N1) decreased.

With the exception of the calcium antagonists category (used in cardiovascular diseases), the ten drug groups with the highest sales all show increases in the N3 size, some particularly strongly. N3 prescriptions increased most for stomach medications, painkillers and antidepressants.