Alternattiva Demokratika,The Green Party is calling on the government to reject proposals from the Chamber of Commerce to reform the ‘pharmaceutical of your own choice’ scheme through which patients pay for free medicines and are subsequently refunded by Government.

Spokesperson for Social and Economic Development Michael Briguglio said, “The Chamber of Commerce is proposing that Government puts the burden on patients by expecting them to pay for the medicines which the government will only refund at a later stage. We cannot afford to come to a situation where instead of owing large sums of money to medicine importers, the government ends up owing money to the patient. This would be a further blow in the demolition of Malta’s welfare state.”

“If Government has a cash flow problem in paying importers, it should explore the possibility of buying more medicines directly from foreign sources. Government should also analyse whether hefty medicine prices originate from overseas or from monopolistic practices in Malta. In this regard, it is positive that over the past year the government bought some medicines directly from foreign warehouses,”

Chairperson Prof Arnold Cassola added, “AD also calls on the government to explore mechanisms which increase competition in the pharmacy sector in a way which offers greater choice and convenience for consumers. The government should conduct a study on the impact of liberalising pharmacy licences. It could also consider allowing the sale of medicines which do not require a prescription, from outlets other than pharmacies to ensure greater competition in this sector as recently done in Italy.”

“While the government should clamp down on abuse and waste of public funds the government should not do away with its social responsibility. Before reforming current health schemes, Government should conduct social impact assessments to assess impact on vulnerable social groups.”

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