Hontiveros wants gov’t to control prices of medicines – Manila Bulletin

Published November 5, 2019, 6:41 PM

By Hannah Torregoza

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the Duterte administration to immediately exercise price control and regulatory powers granted under the Cheaper Medicines Law or Republic Act No. 9502, in order to bring down the price of medicines while the government grapples with the multiple health emergencies facing the country.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros (Senator Risa Hontiveros / Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)

Hontiveros noted that the high cost of medicines in the Philippines is the common concern among the poor, marginalized and even middle class and upper-middle-class households who are affected by out-of-pocket expenditures.

She also warned that the high cost of medicines could undermine the governments implementation of the Universal Health Care (UHC) law as pharmaceutical companies could take advantage of the program to maximize profits by keeping their prices high.

We have heard of countless stories of families living in relative comfort suffer impoverishment when a member of family gets ill with catastrophic disease like cancer, heart attack or stroke. All of the familys finances are channeled to finance these health care needs. Sometimes it gets to a point where they have to sell property or dip into their savings just to cover the cost of health care, Hontiveros said in a privilege speech.

Something must be done about this, Mr. President. Masasayang lang ang UHC law if this is not addressed. All the funds that will be channeled for the implementation of this law will not make a dent in providing financial risk protection for our countrymen because of the high cost of medicines, she pointed out.

Lahat ng dagdag pondo will just be eaten up by these companies as they try to maximize profits by keeping their prices high, the senator warned.

Hontiveros, who co-authored the law in 2008 as Akbayans partylist representative, specifically pushed for a price ceiling to the 120 drugs and medicines for common diseases and conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma and types of cancer to the list of drugs with maximum drug retail prices (MDRP).

The senator recalled that the government was able to use the power to regulate the prices of medicines and set the MDRP of five drugs and immediately slashed their price by 50 percent two years after Congress passed the Cheaper Medicines law.

This was done after several discussions with different stakeholders and after dialogue with the pharmaceutical industry. The list of drugs under the price control would have been longer if not for the DOHs acceptance of the industrys offer to voluntary reduce prices, albeit at a lower rate, she said.

However, it has been a decade since this mandate was used. She said it is high-time the government exercises its regulatory powers again to address the health crisis facing the country.

After months of policy and evidence review and after several consultations and deliberations with experts and stakeholders, the DOH is ready to push the button on price control. I understand that they have already a list of 120 drugs and medicines which they have submitted to the Office of the President (for verification), she said.

These are drugs for a variety of conditions asthma, hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes, various types of cancers which are among the top causes of mortality or morbidity in the country. I fully support this effort of the DOH as this is long overdue, the lawmaker said.

She said President Rodrigo Duterte should consider exercising this power immediately, saying it would be a good Christmas gift to the millions of Filipinos who are battling diseases and having a hard time coping up with the high cost of basic goods and services.

I call on the President, who is given the authority under the law to impose the MDRP to act on these recommendations immediately. Wag na po tayong magpatumpik tumpik pa, she said.

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Hontiveros wants gov't to control prices of medicines - Manila Bulletin