Serbia Cuts Prescription Drug Copays From August 1
From August 1, the state covers a larger share of copays for dozens of prescription drugs. Plavix drops from 302 to 60 dinars, reaching up to three million people.
- From August 1, the state takes on a larger share of copays for dozens of prescription drugs.
- Plavix falls from 302 to 60 dinars, Glucophage from 283 to 121, and Lorista from 176 to 50 dinars.
- The measure covers 2.5 to 3 million people, mainly pensioners and patients on chronic therapy.
- Copays drop by 10 to 40 percent for at least a year, at a cost to the state of about 8.5 billion RSD (~80 million EUR).
Plavix, a blood-thinning drug, sees its copay fall from 302 to 60 dinars on August 1, one of the largest single reductions on a list of several dozen prescription medicines. Under the measure, the state takes on a larger share of the therapy cost that had until now fallen on the patient, and it does so for drugs used daily and over the long term.
The lower copays do not apply to one-off purchases but to chronic therapies. The list covers drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, several antibiotics, eye drops and asthma inhalers. For a pensioner or a chronically ill patient, this is a fixed monthly outlay, much like an electricity or heating bill.
Who is covered and how much do they save?
According to available estimates, the lower copays will reach between 2.5 and 3 million people. Most of them are pensioners and patients on regular therapy, groups with low and fixed incomes for whom spending on medicines weighs most heavily on the household budget.
Concrete examples show the range of the cuts. Glucophage for diabetes falls from 283 to 121 dinars, and Lorista for blood pressure from 176 to 50 dinars. For a patient who takes two or three such drugs a month, the difference runs to hundreds of dinars per box, and into the thousands over a year. Copays on the covered drugs will be lower by 10 to 40 percent, depending on the drug, for at least one year.
For a pensioner’s budget, this is not a symbolic item. For someone treating blood pressure and diabetes at the same time while also taking a blood-thinning therapy, the combined monthly saving across all drugs can cover part of other fixed costs.
The cost to the budget and how long it lasts
On the fiscal side, this is a temporary measure whose cost is estimated at about 8.5 billion dinars (~80 million EUR). The state covers that amount by taking on the share of the copay the patient used to pay, so the benefit to citizens depends on whether the measure is extended after the first year or reverted to the earlier level.
Taking on part of the copay differs from a permanent cut in the drug’s price. The price set by the manufacturer stays the same; what changes is the split between what the Fund bears and what the insured person pays. For the patient the result is the same while the measure lasts, but its durability is tied to the budget rather than to the market price of the drug.
The open question is what happens once the announced one-year period ends and whether the lower copays become permanent. Until then, for patients on regular therapy the yardstick of the benefit will be very concrete: the total on the pharmacy receipt at the end of the month. How much lower will your own medicine bill be from August?
