Question 8366 — pharmacy and medications

Summary

Mr. Bartolomé Lenoir alerts the Minister to the Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, responsible for health and access to care, on the worrying consequences of the Government's decision to reduce the rebate ceiling applicable to generic medicines. In Creuse, as in the whole of Limousin, this discount constitutes an essential variable in the economic balance of pharmacies. According to the specialist accountants in the sector, the discount currently capped at 40% represents on average 11.24% of the overall gross margin and up to 30.10% of the gross operating surplus (EBE) of a pharmacy. In other words, this resource is vital to the survival of pharmacies, particularly those operating in rural areas, already weakened by medical desertification. Health professionals from Limousin, Corrèze, Haute-Vienne and Creuse and the presidents of the departmental unions, the Order of Pharmacists and the territorial professional health communities (CPTS) unanimously denounce a measure which, if applied, would jeopardize hundreds of jobs, further weaken access to care, promote shortages of medicines and could lead to the closure of a significant number of pharmacies. In a rural territory such as Creuse, where the pharmacy network sometimes constitutes the last accessible link in the health system, this reform would have catastrophic effects: it would directly threaten the local pharmaceutical network, worsen the health divide and accentuate inequalities in access to treatments. This decision is all the more incomprehensible given that the current system has made it possible to achieve a rate of substitution of generics above 85%, which directly contributes to health insurance savings. Also, he asks what are the real objectives pursued by this reform, while it calls into question an economic model which has proven itself both in terms of health and economics. He also asks what compensation is being considered by the Government to avoid the closure of rural pharmacies and preserve employment in these already fragile territories. Finally, he asks him if he intends to reconsider this decision, at a time when equal access to care should remain a national priority.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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