brand logo

Health Ministry advises to revise drug price policy

09 Sep 2022

  • Urges authorities to consider providing tax concessions, lifting import restrictions, deal with donors
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   The Ministry of Health stated that policy decisions should be made based on facts such as providing tax concessions, removing certain import-related limits, and dealing with donors in order to mitigate the impact on the people due to the rising prices of pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment in the face of the prevailing economic crisis. Speaking to The Morning, a senior official of the Ministry said: “The main reason for the recent increase in the prices of drugs and medical equipment is the current economic crisis. Almost 95% of the drugs used in Sri Lanka are imported. So, when the value of the US dollar goes up, the drug prices will also  definitely go up.” He said that it is not possible to stop such price increases due to economic factors, but that it is possible to take measures to mitigate the impact on the people through certain policy decisions and actions. He said that there are a number of policy decisions and programmes that can be implemented by the Government in this regard.  “Here, the Ministry is not able to implement the relevant decisions and programmes alone. Therefore, as a Government, the taxes imposed on drug imports can be reduced. If there are certain limits imposed on drug imports, they can be relaxed. In addition, certain progressive decisions can be made regarding how to deal with donors,” he explained. Speaking further, he said that doctors are currently working to reduce the impact on patients due to the increase in drug prices by taking measures such as voluntarily prescribing drugs that are low in price instead of expensive alternatives. However, he said, the Government has the ability to take relevant measures on a wider scale. Given the prevailing shortage of foreign exchange reserves in the country, the value of the Sri Lankan rupee has fallen significantly compared to the US dollar. Due to this fact and difficulties in issuing letters of credit for the import of drugs faced by the relevant importers, the prices of drugs and other medical equipment have increased rapidly in the last few months.


More News..