India has announced that medicines will be made free from October. The government will finance 75% of the costs of the therapies, while the remaining 25% will go to the various states of the country, which will compile lists of essential products based on the particular needs of the populations. Furthermore, it will be made compulsory for all doctors working in the public sector to prescribe only generic medicines.
Drug prices in India increased by 40% during the period 1996-2006, with peaks of +137% for non-centrally controlled products. In addition, 47% of patients admitted to rural hospitals and 31% of those treated in urban settings finance their care through loans or property sales. Currently, households spend on average 10% of their income on health care.
Only 22% of the population of 1.17 billion people receive free treatment, but the percentage is expected to rise to 52% in 2017. States will procure drugs through tenders, directly from manufacturers and importers. Companies applying for tenders will be required to submit certificates of good manufacturing practice and annual turnover data, and the products they supply must have the words 'not for sale' printed on the packaging.
June 28, 2012 – BDC – PharmaKronos
Ed.: we report the Indian news on medicines because there is someone who longs for the Indian health model, as indicated by the article below reported on June 18th:
Balduzzi: I neither confirm nor deny cuts of 1 billion
The Minister of Health, Renato Balduzzi, neither confirms nor denies the hypothesis of cutting one billion euros for healthcare in the context
