DOH Fails to Implement the Cheaper Medicines Act

In a rally on June 6, 2012, the four years after then Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Cheaper Medicines Act, The Consumers’ Action for Empowerment gave the Department of Health a failed mark for its inability to bring down the prices of medicines.

Consumers’ Action for Empowerment scored the Department of Health based on its failure of four major provisions of the Cheaper Medicines Act. These provisions are:

1. Regulate prices of medicines. Prices of medicines have gone up. As per monitoring of the Senate committee of Trade and Commerce on five medicines, prices of medicines monitored in 2008 when the law was implemented and the current prices June 2012 have gone up, except for Norvasc. These medicines are: Plendil 5mg for hypertension was P23.76 and is now P30; Ventolin inhaler for asthma was P352 and is now P 430.50; Ponstan 500mg for pain was P26 and is now P29.75; Bactrim which is an antibiotic was P17 and is now P33.75. Only the anti-hypertensive Norvasc, has gone down then P44 is now P22.85. Is it because of Cheaper Medicines that the price of Norvasc has gone down or because it went off-patent in 2009?
   
   In addition, the Department of Health claims to regulate and monitor the prices of about 200 medicines. What is the basis for the selection of these medicines which is nowhere near the 600 essential medicines needed in the country. It uses an electonic data monitoring system which is hard to access; thus making it virutally ineffective.
2. Increase parallel importation. Importation of patented medicines from abroad competes with the medicines manufactured in the Philippines, thus threatening the very existence of the fledgling drug industry in the country.
3. Promote and educate the Generic Laws. After more than two decades of the existence of the Generics Law, sales of generics medicines is only four percent. Though generic medicines are cheaper, still patients could not complete the required dosage or take their medicines on a maintenance level because of lack of money. Those aware of savings incurred through use of generic medicines use branded medicines because there is no generic equivalent available in the country. These medicines include eye and ear preparations, dermatological or skin infections, medicines for kidney, heart, anti-depresssion and cancer.
4. Widen availabity by allowing the sale of over-the-counter medicines to non-pharmacy outlets. Sales personnel are not knowledgeable of the rational use of these medicines, which may create adverse side effects and damage vital organis like the kidney and liver.

The Consumers’ Action for Empowerment calls for affordability and availability of medicines vis-à-vis quality and rational use of the medicines and the development of a comprehensive health care. The government through the Department of Health, as well as other government institutions, has a central role in this. Patients need free essential medicines in government hospitals and the exemption of medicines from the 12 percent VAT. These may bring the temporary relief while government still has to seriously define steps in developing a genuine national drug industry that is free from transnational control.