A new mechanism for regulating the prices of medicines in Kazakhstan will be implemented to ensure that patients receiving treatment under the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care (GMFC) and the Compulsory Social Health Insurance (MSHI) and to reduce the marginal cost of medicines sold in the retail network of pharmacies, Vice Minister of Health Yerzhan Nurlybayev announced during a press briefing at the Central Communications Service.
One of the means of reducing the marginal cost of medicines will be the exclusion of additional costs previously included in the cost of medicines: marketing (up to 30%), transportation (up to 15%) and quality assessment costs.
As a result of the revision of the regressive scale of surcharges, the threshold for their application has been significantly reduced: within the framework of the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care (GMFC) and Compulsory Social Health Insurance (MSHI), they are up to 20%, for wholesale - up to 25%, and for retail - up to 30% (compared to 55% previously).
Regulation, limiting prices and surcharges The new edition of the rules for the formation of generics provides for a 30% reduction in the price of the original drug.
If the original drug is not on the market, the marginal cost of the domestic analogue should not exceed the average price of imported drugs. Such a policy will stimulate competition and improve conditions for domestic manufacturers, ensuring a balance of interests for all parties.
To increase the transparency of the system, integration with state information portals, in particular, with the State Revenue Committee, will be introduced. This measure will allow for effective control of drug prices by monitoring data from customs declarations and cash receipts of pharmacies.
In addition, the list of reference countries has been revised: instead of 16, 10 economically comparable countries will be included, such as Turkey, Russia, Poland, Belarus, and others. This will allow for a more accurate and relevant analysis of prices, taking into account world experience.
As Yerzhan Nurlybayev noted, the main task of legislative initiatives in the field of providing the population with medicines is to form effective pricing mechanisms that will allow curbing the unjustified increase in drug prices, ensuring market transparency and fair competition.
The Vice Minister also recalled that in order to increase the availability of medicines in the pharmaceutical market, the Ministry of Health, together with the antimonopoly body, is taking measures to gradually regulate the prices of medicines for wholesale and retail sale within the framework of the Road Map. Thus, in 2023, 302 names of non-prescription medicines were released into the competitive environment, and in 2024 - 952 names of non-prescription medicines.
Within the framework of the guaranteed volume of free medical care and in the system of compulsory social medical insurance No. RK DSM-247/2020 dated December 11, 2020, the relevant amendments to the Rules for regulating and forming maximum prices and mark-ups for medicines and medical devices (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) have already been approved by Order No. 110 of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 25.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/dsm/press/news/details/921706