“Intervention in professional practice”
Pharmaceutical group Roche is suing against higher manufacturer discounts
05/25/2023 1:51 p.m
In order to strengthen the finances of statutory health insurance, pharmaceutical manufacturers have had to grant larger discounts since the beginning of the year. The criticism of it is great. The Roche group does not leave it at that and is now suing in Karlsruhe against the law.
According to its own statement, the pharmaceutical company Roche was the first representative of the pharmaceutical industry to file a constitutional complaint against the Statutory Health Insurance Fund Financial Stabilization Act of Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. The submission to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe was made on Wednesday and is directed, among other things, against the increase in manufacturer discounts, said a company spokeswoman. There was initially no confirmation from Karlsruhe that the complaint had been received.
Roche sees the law as an “unjustified encroachment on the constitutionally protected freedom to exercise a profession and the general principle of equality”. Lauterbach initiated the law that came into force at the turn of the year to plug a billion-dollar hole in the coffers of statutory health insurance (GKV). Among other things, the manufacturer discounts that companies have to grant to the statutory health insurance companies have been increased for this year.
In addition to Roche, many other industry representatives, including Boehringer Ingelheim, had voiced criticism of the law. They see the innovative power of the industry in danger and warn of the consequences for patients. According to earlier information from the Association of Research-Based Drug Manufacturers (VFA), which represents 47 drug manufacturers with 94,000 employees in Germany, the sharper price reductions alone cost the industry 1.5 billion euros, plus additional billions in costs, for example in the course of extended price moratoriums for drugs.
VFA President Han Steutel welcomed Roche’s move and spoke of “legislative snap shots”. According to Steutel, these ruined an established legal framework “in passing” and should be checked in Karlsruhe. The reimbursement system for innovations had been “mixed up contrary to the system”.