The Covid-19 pandemic led to a shortage of cold medicines containing acetaminophen, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare has taken out an insurance drug price increase card to encourage production.
The issue was also discussed during the parliamentary audit of the administration at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee.
On Oct. 7, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties told the government to resolve the shortage of cold medicine. In response, Minister of Food and Drug Safety Oh Yoo-kyung said the problem of "low drug prices" should be solved to stabilize supply.
On Monday last week, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a meeting of the government and affiliated organizations to stabilize the supply and demand of cold medicines, including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), and pharmaceutical organizations.
At the meeting, the health and welfare ministry introduced the “system to conclude negotiations after applying for upper limit," saying this system can also be applied to cold medicines classified as specialized medicines.
The ministry added that it is possible to increase the insurance price of cold medicine through this system.
Under the system, if a company applies to HIRA to adjust the drug price among the drugs posted on the reimbursement list, NHIS and pharmaceutical companies adjust the upper limit by holding drug price negotiations after applying for adjustment with the Drug Reimbursement Evaluation Committee.
“The last meeting was to guide the drug price adjustment system, and we have not reached the stage of reviewing the increase in cold medicine,” a health and welfare ministry told reporters on Tuesday. “We have not started the assessment yet. However, the ministry informed pharmaceutical companies that make acetaminophen production of mediation application system since there is a supply and demand problem related to cold medicine.”
The ministry told drugmakers that if they apply for adjustment and submit cost data, the government would review it quickly, and requested about 30 drugmakers that produce reimbursed acetaminophen products to submit data within October, the official added.
A HIRA official said that as the system adjusts drug prices based on companies who applied for such adjustment, the agency has nothing to do if they don’t apply for it.
“However, if there are applications, we will examine them as soon as possible,” the official said.
By most appearances, the actual increase of insurance drug price for cold medicine will likely come early next year after receiving applications for adjustment of the upper limit and consequent negotiations, an industry executive said.
“Considering the 60-day drug price negotiation and HIRA’s deliberation period, it will take two to three months, and the actual price increase will be possible around February,” the executive said.