Free medicines for people after 75 years old – the draft bill

After public consultations the government has published a draft bill introducing free access to medicines for people older than 75 years. 
According to the draft bill, every person older than 75 years will have access to free medicines. Nevertheless, not all of medicines will be covered by these provisions. It will only affect those reimbursed medicinal products which will be placed by the Minister of Health on a special list. The list will be created according to following criteria: (1)  meeting the health needs of beneficiaries, (2) access and safety of applying medicines, (3) consequences for the budget of state and for the National Heath Fund.

Only a primary care physician and a nurse will be entitled to prescribe a fully reimbursed medicine for an elderly person; in addition, a physician, who does not perform his or her profession,  will be entitled to prescribe such medicines for himself or herself as well as for a spouse, siblings, ascendants and descendants, subject to the condition of having signed an appropriate contract with the National Health Fund.

The draft act also provides for modifications in the Reimbursement Act. Amendments will concern, first of all, the pharmacists' obligations o regarding dispensing reimbursed medicinal products. The planned amendment expands the list of admissible cases generic substitution in a pharmacy, including an expressly regulated possibility of giving to a patient (instead of a reimbursed product prescribed) of a not reimbursed drug, subject to the 100% payment. 
The draft bill is available under the link:   http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/docs//2/12280103/12328644/12328645/dokument207403.pdf