Near-Record German Drug Spend In 1995

Spending by German health funds on pharmaceuticals in 1995 reached more than 33 billion Deutschemarks ($21.83 billion), close to the record level of 1992, according to the local health funds' scientific institute, in a report on drug prescribing undertaken for the funds and other health care organizations.

The report's editor, Ulrich Schwabe, said that potential savings of about 3.3 billion marks a year exist in the drug sector, if existing methods of achieving savings are utilized through the use of generics and patented active agents. Prof Schwabe said the best way of saving public money was through action on controversial drug products, on which 7.1 billion marks was spent in 1995, up 3.9% on the previous year.

Pharmaceutical sales rose 7.1% in 1995 over 1994, despite the fact that drug spending was legally restricted. Funds' spending hit budgeted levels in western Germany and exceeded them in the eastern states. The drug budgets were exceeded in nine out of 23 associations of panel doctors by a total of 873 million marks ($577.7 million). Overshoots on virtually all regional budgets are expected for 1996. In the first half of this year, drug spending by the funds rose 8.2%, so if trends remain broadly the same, a total budget overshoot of 3 billion marks is on the cards, according to the report.