With the hand of the market to squeeze dry moisture drug prices 
 
 
The 2014-12-05 10:16:24 
 
 
Source: People's Daily 

    Full of market competition, it is easier to form a reasonable price. Health care departments should be a "keeper" of the drug prices, public hospitals should be "followed" drug prices
 
    According to the report, the national development and reform commission proposed new drug pricing reform, cancel the drug pricing, government through the health insurance fee and bidding procurement, that drugs actual price formed from competition in the market. This marked the drug price reform in China is big strides.
 
    In recent 10 years, the country's continuous 20 multiple drug prices. But, every time after the price, there will be a batch of cheap classic medicine disappear, someone called "depreciate death". Because the profit is too thin, many domestic enterprises can only give up production, lead to a drug is hard to find. At the same time, the medical technical service price is low, even at a loss, the doctor couldn't rely on technology is paid with dignity, drug kickbacks became part of the doctor's "grey compensation". In medicine for the medical mechanism driven by the higher drug prices, kickbacks from space, the greater the sales are, the better. Set and drug companies for drug prices or avoid "depreciate death", often through the "joint" at all costs, has given rise to a lot of power rent-seeking behavior.
 
    In fact, in drug pricing, "visible hand" is no better than that of the "invisible hand". Pharmaceutical producing enterprises in our country, there are more than 5000 market fast changing, enterprise's raw material prices, labor costs, size differ in thousands ways, the government is difficult to precisely estimate the actual cost of each drug, unable to determine a reasonable market price. Pricing has certain stability, at the same time, the government can't adjust, difficult to dynamically reflect market supply and demand. Way at present, the government's intervention on drug prices, the highest price is mainly formulated the "ceiling price". However, many "ceiling" price is not reasonable, lead to "bad money after bad money", produce anti-eliminating phenomenon. Although the hand of the market sensitive, but by governments has long been stamped on the living and unable to move. Price is the market supply and demand of "light", plays a decisive role in drug pricing, drug prices reflect market supply and demand relations, is not only beneficial to increase the enterprise vitality, but also help constrain government that only "do hand", reduce administrative intervention and power rent-seeking.
 
    Special commodity drugs is the relationship between the people's livelihood. Full of drug prices, and let the market hand waving up, does not mean that the government do nothing, just stand by. In fact, governments around the world have controls on drug prices, just different form. The United States, for example, the price is mainly formed through market competition, when determining drug prices, the insurance company will take the initiative to bargaining with pharmaceutical companies, and lower prices to the largest extent. The government cannot directly affect the price of drugs, but can use legal means to enterprise's monopoly and unfair competition. British allow pharmaceutical companies to pricing, but the profit margin of the drugs must be controlled in a certain range, excess profits returned to government.
 
    Drug prices, then, let go after, how can our government? First of all, improve the medical service price, cancel the drug addition, break medicine for healing, at the same time, crack down on commercial bribery, let drug firms completely farewell "rake-off". Second, to establish a fair and just "game rules", investigated illegal pricing and monopoly, inadequate competition focus on the buying and selling price monitoring and information disclosure of the drug. Third, the implementation of medical insurance to pay the price, set up the mechanism of saving purchasing cost benefits to the hospital, hospital to move through the joint procurement, active lower purchase price, this is the main driving force of the future drug prices. At present, our country has universal health care system, medical insurance department has the strong ability of negotiation and bargaining. Sanming city, fujian province, for example, to reform the system of payment in accordance with the lowest price to pay for the benchmark of domestic generics. The same generic medicines, there are 10 yuan, 20 yuan and 30 yuan, paid price is 10 yuan. At the same time, the health departments to do the first batch of 14 imported drugs in hospital price settlement, imported varieties in excess of the limit, the basic medical insurance will not be paid. Chongqing next shall practise a system of drugs price to pay, first pilot is health insurance directory 300 medicines before usage. Hospital purchase price is lower than the average price of drugs, balance to the hospital; Of higher than average, exceed a share shall be borne by the hospital. The move will arouse the enthusiasm of hospital actively sourcing cheap medicine, is a breakthrough of medicare payment system.
 
    Cancel after the government pricing, price will jump? This worry is unnecessary. Because full market competition, it is easier to form a reasonable price, drain the moisture in drug prices. At the same time, the health care sector become drug prices "keeper", public hospitals become "followed" drug prices. In these two forces of checks and balances, the price is impossible to fly to heaven.