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A blow to retirees' pockets: how much the drugs they consume the most have increased - Infobae
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Golpe al bolsillo de los jubilados: cuánto aumentaron los medicamentos que más consumen
La escalada en los precios de fármacos esenciales para los adultos mayores golpea cada vez más el bolsillo, lo que se agrava por el recorte en la cobertura que brindaba PAMI
www.infobae.com
October 22, 2024
The escalation in the prices of essential drugs for older adults is increasingly affecting their pockets, which is aggravated by the cut in coverage provided by PAMI
In mid-August, PAMI reduced 44 pharmacological molecules that had 100% coverage in its vademecum
In a context where retirees have experienced a sharp loss of purchasing power and there is no prospect of recovery , the prices of medicines that seniors regularly use have accumulated a rise of 202% since November, above the inflation of the last 11 months, which reached 185.28%. On an interannual basis, the average of the 10 medicines that have increased the most in the last year reaches an average increase of 282 percent.
According to a report by the Center for Political Economy of Argentina (CEPA) , at the end of November 2023 there was an increase of 25.7%; in December the increase reached 40.9%; in January they added 13.6%; in February they adjusted to 15.0%; in March; to 8.4%; in April to 2.5%; in May to 3.8%; in June to 2.8%; in July they adjusted 5%; in August 3% and in September 1.7 percent.
Within the average increase of 1.7% in September for the basket of medicines , the increase of 3.9%, on average, of the 10 medicines that increased the most stands out. Above the average, monthly increases of up to 4.2 percent are observed.
These are the drugs that increased the most in September compared to August, according to the CEPA report
The year-on-year increases in some of the most widely consumed medicines are alarming: the average of the 10 medicines that have increased the most in the last year reaches a year-on-year increase of 282%.
In this list, you can see the drugs that increased the most in price in September compared to the same month in 2023.
Among these 10 products are DAFLON 500, which is a venotonic used to increase the tone of veins and also a vasculoprotector used to increase the resistance of small blood vessels, which increased by 331%; and IBUPIRAC 600 MG, which is one of the most widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to combat pain and fever, which increased by 316 percent.
The situation is aggravated by the reduction in coverage by PAMI. “In mid-August 2024, the pensioners' social security reduced 44 pharmacological molecules that had 100% coverage in its formulary. In June, another 11 molecules had been reduced. For this reason, the increases of 7.9% and 4.9% for the months of August and September respectively occur on a reduced basket of medicines. If we look at the basket surveyed in previous months, the figure for the month of August reaches 24.4% increase and for September 9.7%,” CEPA said.
Exclusion of medicines from PAMI
Those who were excluded from PAMI coverage showed sharp increases between August and September, which directly impacts the pockets of retirees. Among them are Lanzopral, with an increase of 71.7%; Dermaglos, with an increase of 70.8%; and Acimed, whose price increased by 66.7 percent.“The reduction in pharmacological molecules means that a third fewer medicines are now offered compared to those that were distributed free of charge before Javier Milei 's administration ,” CEPA stressed.
He also argued that until July, the comprehensive program of free and discounted medications allowed seniors to save an average of $63,800. He specified that out of every 10 members, 4 receive all their medications free of charge, 5 out of every 10 receive at least two medications free of charge, and 9 out of every 10 receive at least one.
At the same time, the Government has already announced that it will maintain the bonus in force since last January for minimum pensions during the remaining months of this year and that it will remain frozen in 2025. Thus, the amount will remain at 70 thousand pesos. This implies, with the advance of inflation, a loss of the purchasing power of pensions in real terms.
In this regard, CEPA explained: “Following the inflation estimated by the 2025 Budget itself (18%), by January of next year the bonds should double their value , and by December 2025 the figures indicate that minimum pension retirees are being denied an additional $97,446.”
