According to Cepoi, authorities convened at the Government decided to set up a workgroup made up by representatives of the ministries of Finance, Health, Justice and of the National Health Insurance House, as well as by players in the pharmaceutical industry, which will analyze the impact of changing the formula used to compute the clawback tax.
The workgroup has until June 15 to complete the analysis, the minister added.
Cepoi and the finance minister met with Prime Minister Victor Ponta Tuesday for talks on the clawback tax, after drug producers warned Monday they will withdraw products from the discounted and free medicine list if the Government fails to revise the tax.
Romania’s Government said in its latest letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it will continue to apply the clawback tax in the pharmaceutical industry to avoid amassing new arrears in the sector.
According to the Government, the clawback tax generated revenues of 282 million lei (EUR63.2 million) in the first quarter of the year, which will be used to pay off the bills that have not been registered. Authorities also pledged to improve the mechanism computing the tax to ease its implementation.
“The clawback tax is unsustainable and the quanta charged for the first quarter of 2012 speak for themselves. Trying to force the pharmaceutical industry to finance the entire deficit in the healthcare system will destroy the system to the detriment of the Romanian economy and patients. Generic drug producers don’t have the money needed to pay the sum charged for the first quarter of the year,” Dragos Damian, president of the Association of Romanian Producers of Generic Drugs (APMGR), said Monday.
The clawback system was implemented at the end of 2009 and stated all medicine producers must contribute 5% to 11% of drug sales to finance the public healthcare system.
Pharmaceutical companies complained about the consequences of the tax and the Government admitted the system proved inefficient, as it collected only 5% of the sum expected to be raised.
Later, authorities decided drug producers would pay a quarterly tax computed based on a formula that considers the value of medicine consumption.
Players in the pharmaceutical industry said the new system is still precarious as the clawback tax also applies to the value added tax on drug sales, which breaches the Tax Code. (EUR1=RON4.4639)