EUR 32 million from the CHIF reserve to fund important medicines
The Compulsory Health Insurance Council has decided to approve the allocation of EUR 31.9 million from the risk management part of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) budget reserve. These funds will be used to pay for medicines and medical devices.
Aurimas Pečkauskas, Minister of Health, emphasises that as financial opportunities grow, the scope of reimbursements for medicines is expanding. “We have two good news. First, in response to the increased demand for medicines, additional funding has been made available to purchase them, thus ensuring that commitments will be met by the end of the year. Second, it was agreed to advance the purchase of much-needed medicines by a few months and to include them now in the list of reimbursable medicines, some of which are intended to treat complex oncological and cardiovascular diseases - the main killers of the Lithuanian population. This will undoubtedly contribute to direct patient care”, says the Minister.
The largest part of the funds - EUR 28.4 million - will cover the cost of reimbursable medicines and medical aids (MAs).
In 2024, the CHIF budget planned over EUR 511 million for reimbursable medicines and MA, but the growth in spending on medicines and MA has been higher than projected. Due to the higher consumption and patient growth of anti-infectives, diabetes medicines, immunosuppressants, haematopoietic medicines and MAs, the budget overspend amounts to EUR 24 million, which will be covered by the CHIF budget reserve.
Another important CHIF decision was to approve the allocation of EUR 4.4 million for eight new medicines on the Reserve List, which will start to be reimbursed as of 1 November this year.
These include the innovative drugs pembrolizumab, rimegepant, relugolix, oestradiol and norethisterone acetate, vericiguat, nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin, all of which are indicated for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases in the outpatient setting.
It is estimated that in the first year of reimbursement of these medicines, around EUR 26 million will be needed from the CHIF.
“These innovative medicines will be available to patients who need advanced treatment. The additional funds will not only allow to reimburse medicines for oncological diseases, but will also ensure the availability of innovative treatment methods for patients with oncological diseases, chronic heart failure, migraine, and Covid-19 infection,” says Evaldas Stropus, Head of the Pharmaceuticals Reimbursement Division of the National Health Insurance Fund under the Ministry of Health.
Considering the increasing incidence of coronavirus infection this year, CHIF also approved the allocation of EUR 3.5 million from the risk management part of the CHIF budget reserve for the COVID-19 vaccination and treatment programme. These funds will ensure the procurement of medicines for the treatment of coronavirus and will cover the increased demand for these medicines compared to what was foreseen in this year’s CHIF budget planning.
The risk management part of the CHIF reserve is allocated by a decision of the Minister of Health, after taking into account the views of the NHIF and CHIF.
The NHIF invites you:
- Read the most important news on Facebook: https://goo.gl/ML8SqJ
- See recent pictures on Instagram: https://goo.gl/tXvpXr
- Watch videos on Youtube: https://goo.gl/BPBep2
- Follow exclusive infographics and more in Flickr: https://goo.gl/Hsyhq4
- Follow us on LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/2sxfh66j
- Your questions are welcome by email [email protected] or phone +370 5 232 2222