KUALA LUMPUR: The monopoly of some drug companies will be cancelled and the Health Ministry will look towards generic medication to control the cost of medicines, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Noting that the cost of medicines has been rising uncontrollably, the Prime Minister noted that the drug purchases over the past few years had resulted in a monopoly.
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Therefore, he said the commitment of one or two companies will be cancelled.
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Dec 10) during Prime Minister’s Question Time, Anwar said the Health Ministry will explore the possibility of sourcing generic medicines.
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He said generic medicines are more popular in Brazil, India and China and it was not necessary for it to be sourced from the United States or Europe, which are more costly.
He was responding to a question by Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai) on the measures taken by the government to control the 40%-70% hike in insurance premiums and medical inflation.
He added that the government is also looking at the possibility of implementing the Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) model.
Suhaizan also asked in his supplementary question the quickest measure to resolve the issue of medical inflation.
In response, Anwar said the DRGs model will have to be expedited.
"I have instructed the Health Ministry to come up with an immediate measure, and this has been discussed at length. If possible, it should be implemented early next year so that costs do not rise exponentially," he said.
"This is related to medicine prices as well. There are some bigger companies—I am not going to name them—that have charged Malaysia RM5,000 due to lax controls and monopoly, while they charged Thailand RM1,500 for the same medicine."
"Therefore, we have to buy wholesale. Why should the private sector not procure wholesale like the government sector, where the ministries and the armed forces all buy wholesale," he added.
Anwar said an exponential increase is unacceptable, pending the amendment to the 13th Schedule of the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) and as DRGs are rolled out next year.
He said while he accepts the private sector's justification for the rising costs due to increasing medication prices, manpower salaries, and equipment costs, he questioned whether medication costs can be kept at bay with the use of generic medicines.
Anwar also said the Rakan KKM initiative is another measure taken to alleviate the rising medical inflation cost.
