“It’s an absurdity,” said Antoine Boudet, pharmacist in Linars. “We will still lower the prices of drugs that are already almost nothing, which will cause even more shortages. Result: always more missing treatments for our patients. »»
Pharmacists, the adjustment variable?
The pharmacist points to a profitability logic that pushes certain laboratories to stop the production of little lucrative drugs. “Levothyrox, for example, is sold at 60 cents per box. At this rate, laboratories sell at a loss. By dint of drawing prices down, they disengaged. What interests them are the drugs sold at high prices. Maladie insurance gives in to blackmail. And we, pharmacists, we are tired of being the adjustment variable. That they rather renegotiate the prices of the most expensive drugs! »»
An example is striking: “Only one medication costs more than a billion euros per year to social security. And 1 % of drugs alone represent 43 % of expenses. This is why everything skids. »»
In Chasseneuil, even indignation for Antoine Brévière. “We learn from the media that we will slash a good part of our savings. All without consultation, and without logic, ”said the pharmacist who has been living for two decades. A social economy policy experienced as a contempt by the whole profession. “This is the worst blow to the profession for 20 years”.
In the field, the pharmacies are suffering: pressure margins, frozen projects, and hires become impossible. “It’s an unjustified bomb. We lose money. Ultimately, there will be layoffs. We are strangled, ”adds Antoine Brévière.
