French Govt Cancels Pharmacy Changes
French Employment Minister Martine Aubry has cancelled last May'sdecision by the previous (Juppe) government to increase pharmacy margins to 26% on drugs costing 40-200 French francs ($6.90-$34.50).
She has come under pressure from the health fund organization, the CNAM, which says it was never consulted over the change and has threatened legal action. Pharmacists receive on average 25.5% of the price of a reimbursable drug based on 1996 data, with 65.7% going to the producer, 7% to the wholesaler and 2.1%, in value-added tax, to the government. The CNAM says the change would have cost 200 million francs in the rest of 1997 and 400 million francs in a full year.
The Minister has said that the present move is purely temporary, and that new negotiations are expected to start without delay on the margins issue.
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