Press Release
December 16, 2009

Pia: DOH 'dragging its feet' on cheaper medicines law

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today criticized the Department of Health's (DOH) slow action and lack of political will to bring down drug prices and expand the coverage of the Maximum Drug Retail Prices (MDRP) scheme as mandated by Republic Act 9502, or the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008."

Cayetano made the remarks at the joint congressional oversight committee hearing on RA 9502 held Wednesday at the Senate, where lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives took turns in questioning the absence of top officials of the DOH, including Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, as well as the department's failure to put more essential drugs under its price reduction scheme.

She called to task the DOH for dragging its feet in coming up with its next batch of medicines for price reduction, more than three months since the first MDRP list was issued last August 15.

"People have been complaining how come they haven't felt the benefits of the cheaper medicines law when it has been in effect for over a year now. One major problem identified by the oversight committee is the limited coverage of the mandatory price scheme. With very few drugs included in the list, the MDRP doesn't really make a difference in people's lives."

"The DOH is supposed to come up with a new batch of more medicines for price reduction, but why is the DOH taking so much time? Its inaction is very disappointing, even as consumers continue to struggle daily with the high cost of drugs." said the lady senator, a principal co-author of RA 9502.

"The absence of top health officials itself in this joint oversight hearing is already an indication of the government's lack of sincerity to implement the cheaper medicines law," she lamented.

Cayetano, along with House Committee on Health Chair Rep. Arthur Pinggoy, also questioned the basis for the fifty percent discount given to certain medicines under the MDRP, saying that the discount could even be much bigger.

She asked how come the mandatory prices of anti-cancer drugs listed under the MDRP were still way more expensive compared to drugs of the same kind currently being sold at the pharmacy of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

She cited as example the anti-cervical cancer medicine Cisplatin 500 mg, which was reduced by 50 percent under the MDRP to P1,125 from its pre-MDRP price of P2,804.

Cayetano noted, however, that the same drug can be purchased at only P770 for the same quantity at the Cancer Institute of PGH -- and this was even before the MDRP was implemented.

She also cited Ramosetron 100 mg, another anti-cervical cancer drug which is sold at P859.95 under the MDRP, but actually costs much lower at the PGH at only P155.95.

She said the same case holds true with a number of breast cancer and leukemia drugs which can be purchased from the PGH pharmacy at prices much lower than those listed under MDRP.

"How come the PGH has been able to sell these drugs at costs way lower than what the government can impose on the market? Where's the justice in mandating maximum prices on these drugs when one public hospital can actually sell these at much lower prices? The big discrepancy in prices puts to question whether the government is really serious about bringing down drug prices."

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