3.06 Public calls for tenders inappropiate, especially for the primary care sector
Lif essentially believes that dynamic competition ensures the best possible conditions for all involved in healthcare. Therefore, Lif does not believe that public calls for tenders in healthcare will ensure the right market conditions.
Lif acknowledges the fact that the hospital sector can expect to obtain ”economies” through bulk purchasing within the framework of the EU's public procurement directives, but also notes that they of course are granted under the very special conditions characterising that part of the pharmaceutical market.
Lif opposes the idea of medicines in the primary care sector being the subject of calls for tenders, with only the winner of the tender round being awarded the right to sell or to be included on the list of drugs that are reimbursable from public funds. Lif believes that this model is an unfortunate confounding of price setting and the reimbursement system, and also considers such an arrangement to be in conflict with EU legislation.
Such a model will in the long term exclude any form of competition. Once a product has been sidelined, it is extremely doubtful whether it will continue to be marketed. In the end the result is a long succession of temporary product monopolies.
In addition, there is a considerable risk of unfortunate implications for public health when patients for various reasons cannot use the winning product, and there are considerably fewer products to choose from or the others have perhaps been withdrawn from the market.
Lif believes:
- that public calls for tenders for medicines in the primary care sector, where only the winner of the tender round is awarded the right to sell the products, are distorting competition and the price setting,
- that the patients’ state of health will be threatened if they do not tolerate the prescribed drug and the supply on the market is limited.
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