The government has approved new rules that could lower the prices of some medicines in Morocco and reduce what patients pay out of their own pockets.
The changes were approved on Wednesday through draft decree No. 2.25.631. The decree updates the country’s medicine pricing rules for the first time since 2013. It was presented by the Minister of Health and Social Protection.
The current system sets the maximum price a pharmacy can charge for a medicine. The price is based on the manufacturer’s price before tax, plus distribution margins and taxes.
Originator medicines are priced by comparing them with prices in a group of reference countries. Generic and biosimilar medicines follow different rules. Their prices must be equal to or lower than the reference medicines, depending on the category.
The government says the reform has three goals: lower the prices of some medicines, reduce out-of-pocket costs for people covered by compulsory health insurance (AMO), and keep health insurance spending under control.
The reform also aims to protect the local pharmaceutical industry. The government wants to balance lower prices with a steady supply of medicines while supporting local drug production.
Work on the reform has been under way for several years. In 2022, the Ministry of Health held consultations with government bodies and pharmaceutical industry representatives. The Budget Department and the National Health Insurance Agency (ANAM) took part in the discussions.
Many technical details are still unknown. The government has not published the new pricing formula, the new distribution margins, or the list of medicines that will see price cuts. It has also not said whether it will change the reference countries used for price comparisons or the pricing rules for generic medicines.
The full details will become clear once the decree is published in the Official Bulletin. That will show which articles have changed and how the reform will affect medicine prices, AMO reimbursements and the income of companies across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The government also postponed discussion of draft decree No. 2.26.549, which would implement Article 30 of Law No. 27.26 amending the Code of Medicines and Pharmacy. No new date has been announced.
