What Will Prescription Drugs Cost From August 17?

How much will you actually pay at the pharmacy for prescription drugs starting August 17? For blood clot medication, between 600 and 1,100 dinars per pack. Until now, that same bill ran from 1,700 to 6,000 dinars.

Serbia’s government announced on August 5 that insured citizens will gain access to 18 new prescription drugs covered by the state. The measure was unveiled by Prime Minister Djuro Macut, a physician and endocrinologist by profession.

What exactly makes the list

Of the 18 drugs, 16 are new oral anticoagulants. These are drugs that prevent blood clots, and they are being added to the Drug List for:

• preventing stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation
• treating deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• preventing recurrent deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism

The remaining two drugs are for treating heart failure. They are primarily diabetes medications. Clinical trials and real world use have shown they also work in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction.

“For the 16 new oral anticoagulants, the state will cover 70 percent of the cost, while citizens will pay 30 percent of the drug’s price,” Macut said.

Translated to the pharmacy till: seventy percent falls on the state, thirty on you.

How much less will you pay per pack?

The difference is concrete and easy to work out:

• anticoagulants: previously around 1,700 to 6,000 dinars, from August 17 around 600 to 1,100 dinars
• heart failure drugs: previously around 2,500 to 4,500 dinars, from August 17 around 1,700 dinars

If you take one pack a month, anticoagulant users keep between 1,100 and 4,900 dinars per box. For heart failure drugs, that is 800 to 2,800 dinars. Multiply that by twelve and you get an amount that shows up in the household budget, especially in families where more than one member is on the therapy.

Why anticoagulants and heart drugs specifically

Macut explained the measure by pointing to his own profession. “As a physician and endocrinologist, I especially want to stress how important this decision is for patients with chronic noncommunicable diseases,” he said in a statement from Serbia’s government. He added that diabetes, hypertension, obesity and metabolic disorders carry cardiovascular risk, which makes preventing complications matter even more.

“For patients with atrial fibrillation, appropriate anticoagulant therapy can be key to preventing stroke,” the prime minister said, adding: “This measure isn’t just about the cost of therapy, but about access to treatment.”

Not the first change this summer

It isn’t, and that part is easy to miss. Starting August 1, the copay was significantly reduced for 769 drugs on the A1 List. Sixteen days later, this second package arrives. Two decisions on drug prices in two weeks, in the same month.

Pharmacy prices have been under scrutiny all summer anyway. In late July we wrote about President Aleksandar Vucic checking drug prices in Kalna, a day after penalties were announced. What was then handled through margin controls is now happening through the Drug List.

What to do before August 17

The practical part, step by step:

• ask your prescribing physician whether your therapy is among the 18 drugs, they have access to the new list
• if your prescription is running out these days, check whether it’s worth waiting until August 17 to pick up a new pack
• bring the old box to the pharmacy, the pharmacist can check its status on the list right away by the active substance’s name
• keep the receipt with the old price, that’s the fastest way to see how much you actually saved

One final note. Don’t stop or change your therapy on your own just because another drug on the list is cheaper. Anticoagulants aren’t dosed by guesswork, and any change should go through the doctor managing your medical file.