Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15570

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Publication type: news

US Objects to Finnish Pharmaceutical Pricing
YLE 2009 Apr 28
http://yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/04/us_objects_to_finnish_pharmaceutical_pricing_709524.html

Full text:

The United States is putting Finland on a special observation list over Finland’s system of reference prices for pharmaceuticals.
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paavo Väyrynen, told YLE during his visit to Washington that the US is planning to send Finland an official notice on the matter.
“We regret the decision. We do not consider it fair in light of Finland’s policy on these patent and copyright questions. Finland has been at the cutting edge in these matters,” Väyrynen said.
Finland took its reference price system into use in early April. Under the system, compensation for prescription drugs paid by the Social Insurance Institution (KELA) is made according to the cheapest generic version of the drug available. Customers wanting a more expensive name-brand medicine are required to pay the difference out of their own pockets.
The US sees the reference price system as a violation of patent rights. Washington took similar action against Norway last year. Väyrynen does not believe that the affair will affect Finnish-American relations in other respects.