Belgium
A new approved law on the saving measures for 2019 will enter into force on 1 April 2019. It contains the legislative amendments necessary for the implementation of the various cost-cutting measures decided in the framework of the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI)’s budget for medicines for 2019.
The new law includes following amendments (in short):
- The introduction of a “volume cliff”, replacing the current 2.41% price reduction with a new percentage.
- A change to the definition of “cheap medicines” by reducing the maximum permitted price deviation from 20% to 10% for groups of medicines for which there are not 3 different alternatives within the 5% price range.
- The introduction of prescription quotas “cheap” for physician-specialists in hospitals for medicines issued to outpatients through the hospital pharmacy.
- The extension of the system of ceiling prices to medicines which are only reimbursed when issued by a hospital pharmacy.
- The reduction of the billing in hospitals for contrast medicines or medicines for which there is a generic or biosimilar competitor, from 90% to 85%.
- Exceptionally, and only for 2019, the amount of the compensation levy (the claw-back tax) is set at a minimum of 105 Mio EUR.
- The members of the government sitting on the General Council of NIHDI and the members of the Court of Auditors can be provided with information about the refunds offered in the context of the so-called Article 81 or Article 111 contracts, provided that they sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Source: Pharma.be