Italy: Payback for medical devices - request for a technical panel aimed at canceling the payback

23 Oct 2024    1 minute read
Sectors Healthcare & Life Sciences

In brief

In a joint letter sent on 4 October 2024, to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and the President of the Conference of Regions, six industry associations (Confindustria Dispositivi Medici, Aforp, Confapi Salute, FIFO, Università, Ricerca, Coordinamento Filiera and PMI) formally requested to set up a technical panel aimed at the cancellation of the payback for medical devices in the budget law.

Contents

Key takeaways

The letter states that unless a solution is found to cancel or in any case to change the payback mechanism, it will "inexorably continue to create increasingly unsustainable deficits for the Regions, and throw medical device companies into a condition of total and constant uncertainty, such as to cause the shutdown of many companies and the actual risk that the NHS, or rather individual Regions, receive obsolete and poor quality products."

According to rumors, in the next financial maneuver, the government, in addition to providing for a possible increase of the ceiling for pharmaceutical spending from 15.3% to 15.85% of the National Health Fund, could "spread" over five years companies' debt resulting from the payback for medical devices related to the period 2015-2018 (about 1 billion euros).

Meanwhile, the companies that challenged the determinations on payback before the administrative judge remain awaiting the resumption of the pending proceedings for decision on the merits following the two rulings (No. 139/2024 and No. 140/2024) issued last 22 July 2024 by the Constitutional Court.

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