Review of Pricing Policies and Price Lists Available in Asian Countries
In an effort to contain rising healthcare costs, many Asian countries have developed formal strategies aimed at influencing prices of medicines financed by the public sector. This report aims to inform regional regulators, implementing agencies, and donors about existing and potential pharmaceutical pricing interventions that could promote transparency in pharmaceutical pricing, improve value in purchasing, and accelerate progress towards universal health coverage (UHC). The review of national policies and peer-reviewed and grey literature identifies and classifies the medicine pricing policies used by Asian countries and document key differences in their implementation. The report reviewed pricing policies in 11 countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The report acts as a repository of pricing policies used in the targeted countries; documents what information is publicly available on manufacturer, wholesale, and retail prices; reviews the extent to which indexes and international reference pricing rules are being designed and used to standardize purchase prices and negotiate the best value for such products; and assesses whether country-level pricing policies are normative and consistently implemented by purchasing organizations.
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