The head of Germany’s national pharmacists’ association has called on the government to crack down on discounts offered by foreign mail-order pharmacies on prescription drugs.
“This is a clear violation of the law. The state must step in, punish this behaviour, and stop it,” said Thomas Preis, president of the Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists (ABDA), on Monday.
Some large foreign-based online pharmacies have resumed offering discounts after a recent Federal Court of Justice ruling. However, the judgement was based on an outdated legal framework.
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Under current German social security law, discounts or bonuses are banned for statutory health insurance patients filling prescriptions at domestic pharmacies. Pharmacists insist the same rule should apply to foreign providers.
“Price regulation cannot be undermined by discounts or bonuses; otherwise, we will end up in a ruinous price war,” Preis warned.
He emphasised that the restrictions safeguard both medicine supply and patients. “Imagine if, during supply shortages, exorbitant prices were suddenly charged,” he said.
Preis also urged the government to increase dispensing fees, noting that around 4,500 pharmacies about 21 per cent of the total have shut down since 2008. He added that remuneration has remained stagnant for 13 years, while costs such as energy and wages have “exploded,” pushing many pharmacies to the brink of collapse.
