Chancellor of Justice criticises drafting reference price law for prescription medicines
"Critical views not sufficiently considered"
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Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka has severely criticised the way in which the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has prepared its proposal for a reference price system for medicines.
The government is scheduled to discuss the proposal on reference prices at its meeting today, Thursday. Jonkka sent a request for clarification on the matter to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in the first week of this month. The version that is now being brought before the government for approval is the result of two rounds of commentary. The present version has met with Jonkka’s approval.
Jonkka says that in the earlier versions the only model that was drawn up was one that had been reached in the preparations for the reference price system, and no other models were brought forward. Only information that favoured the proposal was used in the background material.
“If there has been a round of comments, it must come out in the proposal. Also, any doubts in the statements must be brought forward”, Jaakko Jonkka says.
He notes that a practice has taken root in the government recently, in which pending legislation is described only with arguments that support the proposal.
In May the Chancellor of Justice took issue with a proposal of splitting the Finnish Institute of Marine Research into two. Jonkka said that critical views need to be taken into consideration as well.
Last week constitutional experts criticised the government’s proposal for an inheritance tax as going against the constitution.
The reference price system for medicines is aimed at keeping down the costs of compensations for medicines.
Under the measure, interchangeable medicines containing the same active ingredients would be placed in the same reference price group.
The authorities would set a single reference price for the whole group, on which basis the compensation paid out by the Social Insurance Institution (KELA) for prescribed medicines is to be determined. If a medicine is more expensive than the reference price, the customer would pay the difference. This would encourage the use of cheaper generic medicines.
Jonkka says that the proposal lacked a review of pharmaceutical legislation of other countries, alternative solution models, an assessment of the effects that the change would have on the pharmaceutical industry, and critical statements.
Critics of the proposal included the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Finnish Competition Authority.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy said that the proposed change would hurt Finnish innovation activities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs notes that the reference price model could violate the rights of patent holders.
Jonkka says that the main point of his criticism is that Parliament must have comprehensive information as a basis of decision-making.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 19.6.2008 - TODAY |
 Chancellor of Justice criticises drafting reference price law for prescription medicines |
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