Medicine as a 'Luxury Commodity'; Workers Victimized by Price Increases

As the increase in drug prices puts additional pressure on patients and social security beneficiaries, an official from the Social Security Organization announced that 'this increase was made without coordination with the insurers and exceeded the permissible ceiling of 20 percent.' According to the government news agency ILNA, Shahram Ghafari, the director general of social security treatment, emphasized that social security only covers a 'limited portion' of the increase in drug prices, and 'the remaining costs will fall on the patients.' Ghafari also referred to the heavy claims of pharmacies from social security, stating that the organization has requested 25 trillion tomans - 'effort' - from the Planning and Budget Organization to pay off debts, but has not yet received a response. Alireza Heydari, a welfare and social security expert, also considered the livelihood and treatment crisis a serious threat to workers and retirees. He stated that 'the government, by abandoning price control policies, has caused unreasonable drug price increases' and predicted that 'next year, with a reduction in the allocation of preferential currency, drugs will become even more expensive.' This expert also warned that the share of insurance coverage 'has decreased and out-of-pocket payments by patients will increase.' According to him, if the government does not pay its debts to social security, the problems for insured individuals will worsen. Treatment centers are creditors to social security. According to this report, this crisis is also clearly visible in pharmacies. Zahra, a pharmacy expert, says that many visitors decide against purchasing after hearing the price of drugs. She emphasized that 'even pregnant women and patients in need of vital medications, for whom doctors have prescribed supplements, cannot afford to buy them.' In addition to rising prices, shortages of specific drugs and the growth of the black market have also increased concerns. Endoxan, a chemotherapy drug for cancer, is one of the drugs that is hard to find, and patients are forced to obtain it at very high prices from the black market. Previously, Mehdi Pir-Salehi, head of the Food and Drug Organization, stated that the reason for the drug shortage is that 'claims from the pharmaceutical industry have not been paid for over seven months, and this delay has prevented producers from obtaining the necessary raw materials.' This government official attributed low drug pricing to the drug shortage and said: 'Many production companies cannot continue their activities due to being unprofitable,' and to prevent production stoppage, 'price adjustments are essential.' In a situation where insurers cannot cover costs and prices continue to rise, many patients face serious challenges in obtaining the necessary medications. A 30 percent increase in drug prices; 'Liquidity shortages' are the reason for the drug shortage. Insulin shortages; officials' claims about 'nutritional substitutes' for this drug. The head of the Radiology Oncology Association: Insurance does not cover cancer drugs in Iran.