The national development and Reform Commission plans to gradually liberalize drug prices, with over-the-counter drugs and non-medical insurance varieties bearing the brunt

Source: big wisdom news agency on July 23, 2014 On Wednesday, big wisdom news agency obtained the draft for comments from the national development and Reform Commission on liberalizing the prices of some drugs The national development and Reform Commission intended to liberalize the prices of over-the-counter drugs, non-medical insurance directories and other drugs, implement market regulation, and make prices independently by enterprises According to the draft, the scope of drug price liberalization includes five categories: Chinese patent drugs outside the medical insurance catalog, blood products outside the medical insurance catalog, over-the-counter drugs sold in retail pharmacies under the medical insurance catalog, drug dosage forms not reimbursed under the general name of traditional Chinese medicine in the medical insurance catalog, family planning drugs purchased by the national unification and vaccines under the national immunization program The above-mentioned varieties shall be priced independently by the production and operation enterprises according to the market supply That is to say, the prices of over-the-counter drugs (all varieties within and outside the medical insurance), patent drugs outside the medical insurance and blood products in retail pharmacies are to be fully liberalized Exploring the mechanism of drug price formation is the focus of this year's work of the national development and Reform Commission In this context, drug prices are to be gradually liberalized In May this year, low-cost drugs (chemical drugs less than 3 yuan and traditional Chinese medicine less than 5 yuan) all cancelled the maximum retail price of drugs within the standard range The relevant head of the national development and Reform Commission repeatedly stressed that "low-cost drugs are the first pilot of drug price formation mechanism exploration" In fact, as early as February this year, the national development and Reform Commission has issued an internal letter of solicitation for opinions, and plans to liberalize the prices of low-cost drugs, provincial-level OTC, and off catalog patented drugs In the latest consultation in mid July, the scope of drugs is not only limited to OTC products under provincial control, but also to expand the scope, and the prices of some non prescription drugs and non-medical insurance products will be liberalized In addition, in order to avoid the problem of rising drug prices after the price liberalization, the draft also shows that it is necessary to strengthen the monitoring of exclusive products or drugs with certain monopoly, and at the same time, it requires the provinces to formulate the implementation plan of provincial controlled varieties It is worth noting that Jiangxi has liberalized the prices of 601 kinds of OTC drugs under provincial control The prices of 30 OTC drugs under special supervision have fallen by 5, increased by 24, with stable prices and normal market supply.