The health ministry wants to save money at the expense of domestic drug production?

According to information published in the media about cutting spending on the free drug program for seniors and statements made by Mateusz Oczkowski, deputy director of the Health Ministry's Drug Policy Department, about offering only the cheapest products in this program in order to save more than PLN 1.5 billion to fund drug programs, the Domestic Drug Manufacturers warn that this will eliminate their drugs from the 65+ list. Meanwhile, the impact on the Polish economy of domestic manufacturers is PLN 26 billion a year, which translates into 0.75% of our GDP, and they contribute PLN 5 billion to the state budget each year in the form of taxes and contributions.

Apparent savings

- Slashing the budget of the free drug program will be another boost to support imports, because the suppliers of the cheapest ones are usually from Asia. And yet, by spending money on domestically produced drugs, we are developing the Polish economy, not the Chinese or Indian economy. Of every zloty spent on a domestically produced drug, as much as 78% goes to our GDP, calculates the president of the National Drug Manufacturers. - China recently announced controls on access to rare earth elements. What else needs to happen for the Ministry of Health to understand the importance of domestic drug production? Do we really have to wait until similar drug blackmail occurs? - he adds.

Poor medicines not only paralyze the health care system by threatening the health and lives of citizens, but also destabilize the state by undermining public trust in the government, and the lack of drug sovereignty can be used for hybrid attacks.

Optimize expenses

National Drug Manufacturers stress that the most effective form of optimizing spending is competition in the drug market. Domestic companies have introduced competitive products against the 31 molecules on the list of reimbursed drugs since 2020, resulting in savings of PLN 1 billion in pharmacy reimbursement and more than PLN 2.8 billion in hospital reimbursement for the National Health Fund over the past five years. This has translated into greater availability of therapies, for example, thanks to competition for anticoagulants, 300% more patients are receiving treatment from 2023 to August 2025.

The National Drug Manufacturers are proposing that the health ministry's leadership negotiate with the beneficiaries of drug programs, on which the National Health Fund spends about PLN 11 billion each year, to produce in Poland, as part of an offset, some of the drugs sold in Poland, e.g. by contract in plants operating in our country. This will bring concrete revenues to the state budget, which can be used to increase the reimbursement budget. This will also increase the country's drug security.

The health ministry's plans to reduce spending on domestic medicines are inconsistent with the announcements of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who spoke of the need for repolonization and economic patriotism, and assured that: "nothing that is given will be taken away." - Have these declarations by the Prime Minister not reached the health ministry, or are they being ignored by officials? - Krzysztof Kopeć asks.

Source: PZPPF