With national governments scrambling to take measures in order to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, we are again confronted with the fact that a EU common policy in the healthcare field is quasi inexistent. This is equally so in respect of the pricing and reimbursement of medicines. While the so-called Transparency Directive 89/105/EEC provides for a limited harmonization of pricing & reimbursement procedures, one however cannot deny a growing tendency of national governments to look beyond their national borders and even to collaborate in this field, as appears e.g. from the Beneluxa initiative. One of the more striking developments is the instauration of price reference systems in various countries, whereby the level of reimbursement and pricing is made dependent upon the prices applied in selected third countries. As will be illustrated by the present blog, the reverse side of such development is the necessity for national pricing authorities to take into account the fact that their policy might have unintended consequences due to the cross-border effect thereof. If not, national measures risk to “backfire” as seems to have happened with the most recent attempt of the Belgian authorities at further reducing the prices of medicines.

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