EDITORIAL: ECC (Economic Coordination Committee) of the Cabinet should be appreciated for directing MNHSR&C (ministry of national health services, regulations and coordination) to take provinces on board for revision of drug prices and conduct an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of DRAP (Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan).
Empowering provinces to decide drug prices within their jurisdictions has been under consideration for quite some time and, if done seriously, can help end the paralysis about drug pricing that keeps consumers guessing about how much they will have to pay, and pharmaceutical companies worried about their own sustainability.
Probing DRAP, on the other hand, is also essential, because separating its regulatory and administrative functions has become essential for it to do its basic job properly.
The endless back-and-forth between MNHSR&C and ECC has captured the headlines, but it hasn’t provided any clarity for any of the stakeholders. ECC has repeatedly shot down the ministry’s recommendations for increasing MRPs (maximum retail prices) of drugs, including essential life-saving medicines, by citing high cost of living, etc.
It’s important to remember that most of these denials came when the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) government was under severe pressure for its mishandling of the economy, especially because of persistent high inflation and unemployment. Jacking up prices of medicines, including the most important ones, was the last thing the optics of its political compulsions allowed at the time.
Yet, as often mentioned in this space, the government’s choice was ultimately between cheap but mostly unavailable medicines and expensive but readily available ones.
And, as it turned out, it made the wrong choice. Eventually, as foreign firms began winding up operations in the country, and medicines started disappearing from the shelf altogether, it was forced to allow ad hoc increases here and there. And that trend has continued well into the caretaker setup.
It’s clear that the mechanism in place is not working. DRAP’s analyses and arguments have not been backed by convincing data. For, even as proposals included evidence from neighbouring countries, nobody cared to look beyond end prices in different markets.
They should have gone a step further and studied their pricing models as well, especially in India and Bangladesh. They’ve found a better way around such jams by letting the government control prices of essential drugs and allowing the market to decide about others.
The argument to give provinces greater responsibility, not just with medicine pricing, carries weight. It is also in line with a number of steps taken recently, pushed by SIFC (special investment facilitation council), to give provinces greater responsibility.
There’s no doubt that the common man’s life is just about as miserable as at any point in the country’s history. Cost of living, lack of employment opportunities and an unrelenting taxation structure that squeezes a lot more from the poor than the rich, combine to contribute to that agony.
But indecision on the part of the government, especially about something as important as medicines, is not a solution by any stretch of the imagination.
ECC has finally put practical solutions on the table. It is now for relevant departments to follow them through properly. This is far too important a matter to keep hanging indefinitely.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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