PHP73 - The Impact of the Blind Bid Procedure in Hungary

Abstract

The modified reference price procedure, which was introduced in October 2011, caused significant savings in the Health Insurance Fund’s Pharmaceutical budget. In our analysis we aim to give an insight into the effects of this measure on the drug consumption and on the sales of the pharmaceutical companies as well as measure the generated savings and losses on the side of the industry. In the course of the analysis we examine the change in the demand of the related drugs and in their composition, from the aspect of industry, financer and patients. We explore which are the price strategies of the companies and are they managed to increase the sales or decrease the losses with them. The proper knowledge of the effects of blind bid will support the decision making of the concerned market actors as well as the further rulemaking. A retrospective data analysis was conducted on the official NHIFA (national Health Insurance Fund) monthly data-base between October 2011 and March 2013. In the blind bid procedure 90 companies, 169 active substances and more than 2100 product were involved. The relevant products market share is almost 30% of the total Hungarian Pharmaceutical budget, which is almost 1 billion € annually. As we found, the blind bid process has a significant saving effect for the financer. The cumulative savings on the 18 months period reached 113 millions € for the financer. It means 24% reduction on the average reimbursement level, whilst the average manufacturer price decreased 16% and a minimal 3% savings was realized on the co-payment side. Huge savings were realized with this new reference pricing method, where the financer realized the most of the savings.