While the standoff between the executive and the Banque du Liban (BDL) over fuel subsidies is in full swing to the detriment of a majority of the population forced to endure the wait-and-see attitude of generator owners and distributors gasoline, fuel oil and gas, a decision signed by outgoing health minister Hamad Hassan heralded a major change in the way drug prices are calculated in pounds.
According to the document, which L’Orient-Le Jour was able to consult, the minister indicates that the dollar / pound rate applied for non-subsidized drugs will henceforth be equivalent to 65% of the “rate practiced on the Lebanese market” – a reference to the parallel market where the rate oscillated between 20,000 and 21,000 pounds to the dollar yesterday. The decision specifies that the rate applicable on the day of the decision will be 13,650 pounds to the dollar.
The minister also indicated that “the prices will be adjusted every month or as soon as it is necessary, via a circular issued by the Ministry of Health”. The decision is applicable as soon as it is published and the prices could thus be amended according to this new situation on Saturday, according to a source close to the pharmaceutical sector. The minister finally specifies that the decision has been transmitted to the union of physicians of Beirut and North Lebanon, as well as to those of pharmacies, drug importers, drug manufacturers, among others. The decision must also be published on the website of the Ministry of Health. However, it does not specify the list of drugs concerned.
This decision comes at a time when the drug subsidy mechanisms put in place by the BDL since October 2019 – at the same time as those on fuel and wheat – have been lifted, according to information reported by several unions in the sector which have been stepping up for months.
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While the standoff between the executive and the Banque du Liban (BDL) over fuel subsidies is in full swing to the detriment of a majority of the population forced to endure the wait-and-see attitude of generator owners and distributors gasoline, fuel oil and gas, a decision signed by outgoing Minister of Health Hamad Hassan announced a …
