Starting July 1, visits to Latvian pharmacies will become cheaper: for whom and by how much

But that’s not all. From September 1, another innovation will be introduced: this fee will be abolished - for all medications - for first-group disabled individuals.

At the same time, the pharmacy fee will be introduced for Ukrainian refugees, who will be treated the same as regular Latvians.

Next, we will tell you more about all of this.

We meant well

As we well remember, starting January 1, 2025, a fundamentally new pricing mechanism for medications was implemented in Latvia.

The government fixed the markups for wholesalers and pharmacies, but in return, they sweetened the pill for the pharmaceutical business by introducing an official "pharmacist service fee" of 75 cents from the buyer upon the first dispensing of a prescription.

They immediately defined the beneficiaries. Children under 18, low-income individuals, asylum seekers, and Ukrainian refugees were exempted from this fee.

However, it didn’t take a year before it became clear that the system needed to change. This was against the backdrop of numerous complaints from disabled individuals and simply people with poor health. After all, if you buy many medications, a significant amount goes just to this markup.

At the same time, the official goal of the reform was to reduce the cost of medications for the population. But as the Ministry of Health admitted, cheap medications, on the contrary, became more expensive, as 75 cents were added to their price.

As a result, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted amendments to Regulation No. 803 ("Regulations on the Principles of Drug Pricing"), which officially came into force on June 12, 2026.

However, it is quite likely that these will not be the last amendments.

We worked hard

Overall, the Ministry of Health is quite satisfied and considers the reform successful:

"Data after the implementation of the reform confirms that the main goals have been achieved. Expenses for the population as a result of the change in the markup model for medications have decreased. When analyzing prices for the TOP-200 most frequently prescribed medications, the average price in pharmacies in 2025 compared to 2024 decreased by 17%. The most noticeable price reductions were observed for medications priced OVER 10 euros," the Ministry of Health stated when announcing the amendments (emphasized by us - ed.).

But: "The Ministry of Health continues to evaluate the reform and will make changes if necessary."

Who and when will receive a discount

The first wave of discounts will begin in the height of summer - starting July 1, 2026.

From this moment, there will be no need to pay 75 cents "for the pharmacist’s smile" in two cases:

• Firstly, if you are purchasing non-reimbursable or 75% reimbursable prescription medications priced at no more than 10 euros per package;

• Secondly, this fee will be abolished for pregnant women and young mothers (within 70 days after childbirth) if they are obtaining medications from a special "M list" (reimbursable medications for motherhood) costing up to 10 euros;

The second stage will occur in the fall - starting September 1, 2026:

• From this date, individuals with first-group disabilities will be completely exempt from the 75-cent pharmacy fee. Moreover, for them, the 10-euro limit will not apply - the fee will be nullified for the purchase of any prescription medications.

However, for Ukrainian citizens who have found refuge in Latvia, the news is less cheerful. From the same date, September 1, 2026, the state will stop fully covering the pharmacist service fee for them from budget funds.

From now on, Ukrainians will have to pay the same 0.75 euros for a prescription as most regular residents of Latvia. At the same time, they will be subject to the same general benefits as Latvians (for example, if a Ukrainian patient is a child or purchases medication costing less than 10 euros, the fee will not be charged).

And about the pharmacy business

Simultaneously, the government decided to slightly cut bureaucratic chains for the pharmaceutical business.

Now, drug manufacturers, their parallel distributors, and importers must notify the State Agency of Medicines about price changes five days before their implementation (previously, they were given a week).

And manufacturers will now have to declare prices only once a year, strictly at the beginning of the year, instead of the previous twice a year.

About the full cost of the "pharmacist’s smile"

When implementing the pharmacy reform of 2025, it was stated that the full cost of the pharmacist’s service for processing one prescription is 1.50 euros.

Moreover, if a pharmacy or its branch is the only lifeline in a specific remote locality, the rate for one serviced prescription increases to 2.50 euros.

Until now, this amount was shared equally between the state and the patient. The buyer pays a fixed 75 cents (if they have no benefits), while the remaining part of the amount (75 cents in regular pharmacies or 1.75 euros in the only pharmacy in the area) is compensated to the pharmacies by the National Health Service directly from the state budget.