Bulgaria’s competitors watchdog has launched a sector-wide inquiry into the pharmaceutical market, simply months earlier than the nation is predicted to hitch the eurozone on January 1, 2026. The transfer follows rising political stress to deal with inflation fears tied to the upcoming foreign money change, with populist events proposing value controls on primary items and companies, together with medicines.
The Fee on Safety of Competitors (CPC) introduced that it has despatched questionnaires to dozens of pharmaceutical corporations as a part of a broader investigation into market dynamics and potential value distortions. An identical probe into the meals sector was launched earlier this yr amid widespread issues that euro adoption might set off value spikes, notably for low-income households.
“Prescribed drugs account for 36% of family bills, which is a gigantic share,” CPC Chair Rossen Karadimov informed public broadcaster BNT.
He mentioned that following the info assortment section, the Fee could suggest coverage measures to scale back family spending.
Business questions knowledge
Bulgarian households spend a mean of €360 per individual yearly on healthcare, accounting for six.1% of complete family expenditure, in line with knowledge from the Nationwide Statistical Institute. This consists of out-of-pocket prices for medicines, remedies, and companies not lined by the Nationwide Well being Insurance coverage Fund, which is funded by an 8% income-based solidarity contribution.
Nevertheless, the pharmaceutical trade expressed scepticism over the info used and the seemingly influence of the investigation. Chatting with Euractiv, Dimitar Marinov, chair of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union, said that he was unaware of the supply behind the 36% expenditure determine.
He additionally identified that the final sectoral evaluation performed by the CPC dates again to 2014 and has had no tangible influence.
“These analyses are alleged to result in significant suggestions to parliament, which might then undertake legislative modifications to enhance the setting,” Marinov defined. “Again in 2014, the findings have been utterly ignored.”
OTC value cap
Based on sources inside the ruling coalition, the latest wave of regulatory scrutiny is a part of a coordinated effort by unbiased businesses and the federal government to sign management over inflationary dangers within the lead-up to eurozone accession. Almost all key sectors of the economic system are anticipated to face some type of inspection or coverage intervention.
Authorities ceaselessly use the time period “hypothesis” to explain perceived unjustified value will increase. Nevertheless, Bulgaria operates beneath an open market economic system the place competitors guidelines decide pricing, and pharmaceutical costs are already tightly regulated.
On July 21, lawmakers from the populist opposition events Velichie (“Greatness”) and MECH, backed by the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Social gathering, a junior accomplice within the authorities, tabled a invoice aimed toward capping costs throughout a number of sectors. The draft regulation targets financial institution charges, telecom tariffs, gasoline costs, and the costs of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.
The proposal states: “Pharmacies and drugstores shall not cost costs for OTC medicinal merchandise exceeding these registered by the Nationwide Council on Pricing and Reimbursement of Medicinal Merchandise as of January 1 2025.”
But, consultants argue that the chance of value surges within the pharmaceutical sector is minimal. “By regulation, medication costs in Bulgaria are strictly regulated. It’s inconceivable for [them] to exceed the bottom costs amongst our EU reference international locations,” Marinov defined.
[Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi]
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