Starting from July 1, the state will fully cover the pharmacist service fee for residents purchasing non-reimbursable or 75%-reimbursed prescription medications with a pharmacy price per package of up to 10 euros inclusive. This is provided by the changes in the pricing principles for medications approved by the government today.
This benefit will also apply to pregnant women and women up to 70 days postpartum if they purchase medications intended for the corresponding diagnoses from the list of reimbursable medications with a 25% reimbursement and a pharmacy price per package of up to 10 euros inclusive.
As noted by the Ministry of Health, the aim of the changes is to increase the availability of medications for residents, future and young mothers, as well as for socially vulnerable groups by reducing patients' personal expenses on medications.
Starting from September 1, the pharmacist service fee will be fully covered from the state budget for first-group disabled individuals when purchasing any prescription medications.
Currently, part of the pharmacist service fee of 75 cents is covered by the buyer, while the remaining amount is paid to pharmacies by the National Health Service (NHS) from the state budget.
At the same time, the part of the pharmacist service fee of 75 cents will remain for patients who purchase medications reimbursed by the state at a 100% rate. The Ministry of Health justifies this by the necessity to promote adherence to prescribed treatments and responsible attitudes towards them.
The new benefits for covering pharmacist service fees were planned to be introduced from January 1 of this year; however, due to technical reasons, it was impossible to make the necessary adjustments to the information systems by that deadline.
For the introduction of new measures this year, 3.82 million euros are allocated, and in 2027 and thereafter, 7.79 million euros annually. Of this amount, 3.67 million euros are allocated this year for the full coverage of the pharmacist service fee for patients purchasing non-reimbursable or 75%-reimbursed prescription medications with a pharmacy price per package of up to 10 euros, as well as for pregnant women and women up to 70 days postpartum, while in 2027 and thereafter, 7.34 million euros annually. In turn, for the full coverage of the pharmacist service fee for first-group disabled individuals, 151,119 euros are allocated this year, and in 2027 and thereafter, 453,360 euros annually.
Overall, in the budget subprogram of the Ministry of Health "Payment for Reimbursable Medications and Materials," 18.95 million euros are allocated this year for covering the pharmacist service fee, and in 2027 and thereafter, 22.92 million euros annually.
Starting from September 1, for residents of Ukraine living in Latvia, according to the law on support for the civilian population of Ukraine, the state will no longer fully cover the pharmacist service fee for prescription medications. In the future, they, like residents of Latvia, will need to pay a patient contribution of 75 cents, while the remaining part of the fee will be covered by the NHS.
At the same time, residents of Ukraine will be subject to the same benefits for pharmacist service fees as other residents of Latvia, including in cases where they purchase corresponding cheaper prescription medications or fall into another group of beneficiaries.
As noted by the Ministry of Health, last year, 65 million euros were allocated to support the civilian population of Ukraine, while in 2026, the funding for these purposes amounts to 39.7 million euros, thus necessitating a review of the types and amounts of support.
Residents of Ukraine will retain the right to receive state-funded healthcare services to the same extent and under the same conditions as residents of Latvia.
At the same time, to reduce the administrative burden on pharmaceutical manufacturers, in the future, information on the selling price of medications in Latvia will need to be provided to the State Agency of Medicines once a year, instead of twice as it is now. The obligation to inform about price changes will remain.
According to the calculations of the Ministry of Health, these changes will reduce the administrative costs of manufacturers and distributors of medications by 7,957 euros per year.
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