SPÖ wants to repair the current legal regulation with an upper cost limit for medicines
Vienna (OTS/SK) – SPÖ Ombudsman spokesman Rudolf Silvan renews the SPÖ’s demand for the introduction of a drug cost cap. SPÖ health spokesman Philip Kucher has submitted a corresponding application. However, the government parties did not approve the application in the Health Committee and instead postponed it. Silvan: “The case presented by Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz in yesterday’s edition of the ‘Citizens’ Lawyer’ program illustrates the need for a cost cap for medicines. In the future, this should take into account the costs of all prescribed medications and not just the costs of those medications that exceed the prescription fee!” ****
Silvan, who is also a member of the health committee, explains why this is necessary: “There is currently a prescription fee account with the health insurance company for everyone with statutory health insurance. All prescription fees paid in the current year are recorded there. If the sum of the prescription fees paid has reached the ‘cap’ of two percent of the respective annual net income, this will be reflected when you go to the doctor’s office and you will receive a prescription free of charge. But if the price of a medication is less than the prescription fee of 7.10 euros, these costs are not credited to the fee account.” According to Silvan, this is a massive problem, especially for many chronically ill people with low incomes.
In the case presented yesterday by Ombudsman Achitz, a pensioner did the math: By November 28th he had spent 521 euros on medication, but only 360 euros were credited towards the upper limit. The remaining part concerned medications whose cost was less than the prescription fee. There is a legal loophole here that the SPÖ has wanted to repair for a long time. Silvan therefore hopes that the postponed negotiations on the application by health spokesman Philip Kucher will be resumed at the next meeting of the Health Committee and that there will be a majority decision to introduce the drug cap proposed by the SPÖ, in which all prescribed drugs will be taken into account in the future. (End) wf/bj
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