Martín Grosz
02/17/2020 - 17:44
- Clarín.com
- Society
Pharmacists were already preparing to give their customers the bad news . In the coming days, laboratories were expected to send price lists to pharmacies with increases of 2 to 3% . This after a "freeze" of securities agreed with the Government that had been in force for two months and that had expired on Saturday . Some companies had even advanced to apply the raises on Friday. But, at the last moment, the "redial" operation was deactivated . And it was decided that the relief continue for two more weeks.
"The freezing in the prices of medicines will be extended again until February 29. The decision was taken from a call from President Alberto Fernández, who asked the laboratories that effort to collaborate in the fight against inflation. The industry he considered his request and decided to accompany it ", explained Clarín in the Industrial Chamber of Argentine Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Cilfa), which brings together the big national firms.
They told there that it is a decision of the entire sector , taken in conjunction with the other two large business entities of laboratories: the Argentine Chamber of Medicinal Specialties (Caeme, which brings together foreign firms) and Cooperala (of small national laboratories) .
"The agreement continues until the end of the month," sources linked to foreign laboratories confirmed to Clarin , where they also clarified that " it is a recommendation of the cameras to their associates" and that now "it is at the discretion of each laboratory what to do ."
The agreement that has just been extended had been a kind of welcome offering from the sector to Alberto Fernández, just one week after his inauguration as president.
What was initially agreed by the Ministry of Health of the Nation with the three chambers was to roll back prices to the levels of December 6, apply a reduction of the order of 8% and leave them still from there on. The announcement was made official on December 16 and clarified then that it did not include the securities within agreements such as those of PAMI or IOMA.
At first, it had been said that the measure would expire on January 31 . But, when that date arrived, it was decided to extend the agreement for another half month, until last Saturday, February 15. As of that date, the laboratories were supposed to be "in a position to do what they think they should do, " as Health Minister Ginés González García had suggested to the newspaper Page 12 .
Even until the end of last week, sources in the sector almost certainly assumed that prices would move again, while respecting an official request that the remarkets be moderate, in line with the general inflation index or below .
Two more weeks with fixed prices for prescription remedies. (Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros)
But in the last hours the panorama changed and, after the presidential "telephone call", the new extension arrived. The request for extension came just days after the official announcement of a controversial differential increase in retirements and two relief measures related to medicines: the creation of a vademecum with 170 remedies with 100% coverage for all PAMI members and the relaunch of the Remediar Plan, expected for the next few hours.
With the price agreement, the official intention had been to "deflate" even slightly the "cushion" that the sector had created before the change of government, partly to compensate for the impact of post-STEP devaluation on its costs and partly because they feared that a compulsive freeze could arrive indefinitely.
The increases had been so important that, even after the agreed retraction of 8%, the medicines closed 2019 as the most affected item for inflation of all that Indec relieves. According to the agency, on average, health remedies and equipment ended December with an average annual increase, which, according to the region, was 85% to 90.9% . While in January they had a reduction of 2.5 to 5.1%.
What also happened, as Clarín verified, is that the announced retraction of 8% was mainly fulfilled in those of prescription sale, but little in those of over-the-counter , which represent almost a quarter of the medicines sold in the country. In that category, according to laboratories, the reduction was not mandatory.