The state allocates additional sums for compensated medicines. Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco said that 1 billion lei will be allocated in 2023 for subsidizing medicines. Not only drugs will be subsidized but also some of the medical devices, like those intended for patients with diabetes and stomas. Even if the rate of inflation in 2022 exceeds 30%, the prices of medicines rose by only 3.5% on average, IPN reports.

Under the draft health insurance funds law, the allocation for subsidizing drugs in 2023 will be by almost 35% or 268 million lei higher. The minister of health assured that the list of compensated drugs in 2023 will be extended.

“We made effort to increase the package for compensated drugs. The compensated drugs are an instrument that prevent complications of diseases and ensure financial coverage for patients. It’s known that the medicines are expensive and we plan to increase the sum allocated for subsidizing drugs by 35% next year. Almost 1 billion lei is intended for compensated medicines. Furthermore, we allocated several hundred millions for medical devices as, for the first time in 2022, we also subsidized medical devices, primarily tests for diabetics and stoma bags,” Ala Nemerenco stated in the program “Common Objective” on TVR Moldova channel.

Moreover, the minister said that the war in Ukraine disrupted the chains that supplied national hospitals and drugstores with medicines and medical devices. The authorities swiftly reoriented to other markets and managed to keep medicine prices at almost the same level as in 2021.

“Particular medicines that disappeared were made not only un Ukraine, but also in Russia. The ordinary drugs that are very necessary, like the physiological saline solution and all the elements used in perfusion, are no longer available through tender contests. We must admit that the medicines that came from these two markets had a lower price. Likewise, a number of European pharmaceutical companies had stores on the territory of Ukraine and the war disrupted the supply chains. Respectively, we started to import from other countries. Owing to the efforts of the Medicines Agency, the prices grew by only 3.5% on 2021 at a time when the inflation rate is of 30%,” noted Ala Nemerenco.

Parliament on Thursday gave a first reading to a bill that amends the mechanism for approving and registering the producer prices of medicines. This is designed to provide the country with medicines of a high quality at reasonable prices.