Pharmacy Reform Fails to Address Core Threats to Community Pharmacies

The newly launched Health Financial Commission aims to stabilize health insurance finances, with Health Minister Nina Warken urging for swift results. The urgency is palpable, prompting recommendations from various stakeholders, including suggestions for significant savings in health care expenditures.

According to health spokesperson Janosch Dahmen from the Green Party, immediate measures could yield substantial savings. He proposes raising the manufacturer discount from 7% to 17%, which could save approximately EUR3 billion. Furthermore, closing existing gaps in the Pharmaceutical Market Restructuring Act (AMNOG), particularly in applying reimbursement rates to hospitals, could free up an additional billion euros.

Dahmen also highlights potential savings through revising budgets for acute referrals to specialists, which could lead to another billion in savings. Additional reforms involving coupling therapeutic aids to wage base sums and implementing quality standards for aid procurement could contribute another half billion euros.

He asserts that these measures would provide immediate relief for insured individuals and contributing businesses, suggesting that these proposals could be enacted without the lengthy wait for the commission's findings.

While the minister's framework for pharmacy reform has been positively received, Dahmen criticizes the lack of thoroughness in the proposed changes. He points out that the reform does not meet expectations and is causing frustration among healthcare professionals, particularly concerning expanded medication dispensing rights for pharmacies.

Dahmen argues for genuine structural enhancements, particularly to bolster local pharmacy services in rural areas. He emphasizes the need for telepharmacy and facilitating the establishment of branch pharmacies in underserved regions. However, the minister's proposals include incentives for creating branch pharmacies, which Dahmen believes do not adequately address the core issues.

He concludes that the current reform plan offers little in terms of tangible benefits for patients and introduces further uncertainty for pharmacies, as the real threats posed by drugstore chains and online platforms remain unaddressed.