MANILA --- The newly-signed Executive Order (EO)
No. 104 which regulates the prices of drugs and medicine will now make prices
in the Philippines “at par” with its Southeast Asian neighbors, a Palace
official said last February 18.
Presidential
Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar hailed the
signing of the medicine price cap, saying it is a testament of President
Rodrigo Duterte’s commitment to improve access to healthcare goods and
services.
“We
laud President Duterte for signing Executive Order No. 104 which will regulate
and set the maximum retail prices and/or maximum wholesale prices on certain
priority drugs and medicines for Filipinos, particularly those for diseases
that are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality,” Andanar said in a
statement.
Andanar
said the drugs and medicines in the Philippines are considered among the most
expensive in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
In the
Mercer Marsh Benefits 2019 Medical Trends Around the World report, medical
inflation in the Philippines increased to 13.7 percent in 2019 from 13 percent
in 2018.
The
Philippines is behind Vietnam which has the highest medical costs in the region
at 14.2 percent this year, lower than the 14.5 percent in 2018.
“As
prices of medicines and drugs in the Philippines have been one of the steepest
in the region, the E.O. will enable the Philippine Medicine and Drug Market’s
prices to be at par with that of the prices of our neighboring countries,”
Andanar said.
Since
drugs and medications make up a large part of Filipinos health expenses,
Andanar was grateful that the order was signed to provide access to quality and
affordable drugs and medicines, particularly for the poor.
He also
assured that the Duterte administration will remain committed to prioritize the
health and well-being of all Filipinos.
“We
will continue to undertake measures and programs that will further expand
everyone’s access to healthcare and further promote the health development of
Filipinos, in order to realize President Duterte’s goal of providing a
dignified and comfortable life for all,” he said.
Last
February 17, Duterte signed E.O. 104, titled "Improving Access to
Healthcare through the Regulation of Prices in the Retail of Drugs and
Medicines,” to impose price regulation through a maximum retail price (MRP),
maximum wholesale price (MWP) on certain drugs and medicines.
The EO
lists over 100 drugs and medicines registered under the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and available in the market, including anti-hypertensives, anti-diabetic,
anti-cancer, analgesics or painkillers, and anti-coagulants or blood thinners
among others with MRPs and/or MWPs.
It
stated that the MRP of all drugs and medicines shall be imposed on all public
and private retail outlets, including drugstores, hospitals and hospital
pharmacies, health maintenance organizations, convenience stores, and
supermarkets, and the like.
On the
other hand, the MWP of all drugs and medicines shall be imposed on all
manufacturers, wholesalers, traders, distributors, and the like. No public or
private entity shall be allowed to sell, reimburse, or demand from the public
or patients’ payment in an amount higher than the MRP or MWP, as the case may
be.
The EO
is expected to cut prices of over 100 drugs by around 56 percent from their
prevailing market prices.
Based
on the Ulat ng Bayan September report of Pulse Asia released by the Department
of Health, 99 percent of Filipinos are not able to afford their prescription
medicines because they are expensive.
Health
Secretary Francisco Duque III said the price cap on drugs and medicines would
improve access to Universal Health Care. (AZER PARROCHA, PNA, MINDANAO EXPOSE')
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