What drugs will be available under the “Affordable Medicines” program in 2025 (video)
5 December 16:26
In 2025, the Affordable Medicines program will include medicines for children for the first time. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal at a government meeting in Kharkiv, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to the Prime Minister, as part of the “Winter Support” package The Cabinet of Ministers will also expand the Affordable Medicines program.
“The budget for 2025 provides UAH 6.6 billion for the program. This step will allow at least 500 thousand more Ukrainians to save money on treatment. For the first time, the program will include medicines for children,” Shmyhal said.
He added that starting from 2025, all pharmacies will dispense medicines under the Affordable Medicines program. The Ministry of Health is already preparing the relevant regulatory changes.
The government program “Affordable Med icines” provides the right to receive prescription drugs free of charge or with a small surcharge for people with cardiovascular diseases, bronchial asthma and type 2 diabetes.
The mechanism of the program is as follows: the state reimburses the cost of the lowest-priced medicinal product whose manufacturer (distributor) has applied for participation in the Affordable Medicines program. The patient will receive such a drug free of charge. A patient can receive a drug whose price does not exceed the maximum wholesale price by paying only the difference between the amount of reimbursement for the package and the actual price of the drug. The price, which is fully reimbursed by the state, was set by the government after it was determined by the Ministry of Health by comparing the price of similar international generic names in 5 neighboring countries of Ukraine – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Latvia.
The condition for receiving medicines under the program, when the cost of the drug is fully or partially reimbursed by the state, is a properly issued prescription for the required drug, namely a correctly filled out form and the required active ingredient from the list. If the required medicine is not available, the patient can go to another pharmacy in the network, wait until the required medicine is available, or choose another medicine.
