Drastically higher premiums without generics

29.07.2010 08:05

New market data from Pro Generika

The government coalition would have had to decide on drastically higher contributions for statutory health insurance (GKV) if generics did not help to achieve significant savings on medicines. According to the latest Pro Generics market data, generics relieved the statutory health insurance of 2.636 billion euros from January to April 2010 alone.

Extrapolated to the year as a whole, health insurance companies will save 7.909 billion euros through generics. This corresponds to around 0.8 contribution rate points. On average, generics cost 19.03 euros in pharmacies, only half as much as their off-patent reference products (37.32 euros). Currently, 63 out of 100 drug packs dispensed in pharmacies are generics. However, health insurance companies only have to spend 28 percent of their drug expenditure on these modern and inexpensive medications. The generic quota is therefore 63 percent and could be increased significantly if fewer of the expensive original preparations were prescribed and dispensed.

The above figures are based on list prices. The price reductions from discount contracts are not taken into account here. Even without this instrument, the intense competition between generic drug manufacturers regarding price and quality ensures reliable and sustainable relief for health insurance companies.

More about the current development of GKV drug spending is now available in the industry association's market data service at http://www.progenerika.de/de/generika/data/marktdaten/ims-apr10.html. The figures are based on calculations by the independent market research institutes IMS HEALTH and INSIGHT Health.