Learn to save on medicine purchases

Medicines should become more expensive for consumers in the coming days, due to the 10.89% readjustment in the value of medicines, which should start to take effect in April. To save money, the pharmaceutical industry and Proteste (Brazilian Association for Consumer Protection) recommend using the Popular Pharmacy Program or following some basic guidelines – such as researching prices and changing the reference brand for generics.

Once a year, Cmed (Regulation Chamber of the Medicines Market) publishes a list with the maximum price of medicine in industries and retail. The calculation to update the values ​​takes into account the inflation accumulated in 12 months until February and specific costs of the pharmaceutical industry (such as energy, exchange rate and raw materials).

The Chamber of Medicines announced this Tuesday (29) that the maximum value should be readjusted by 10.89%. However, the increase needs to be confirmed by the federal government, in publication in the Official Gazette of the Union.

The new price list will take a few days to be published, but factories and pharmacies are already preparing to increase the drugs to the limit allowed by the government.

Pharmaceutical industry sources say the new maximum value should only come into effect in mid-April. Even so, drugs that were sold below the current limit can be readjusted now, anticipating part of the increase.

In previous years, Cmed approved three levels of adjustment, according to the type of drug and the competitiveness of the brands in the market. For 2022, there will be no such distinction – that is, even the most expensive drugs may have the maximum price readjusted by up to 10.89%, which means an even greater impact for the consumer.

Here are some tips to save money on medicines, according to Sindusfarma (Union of Pharmaceutical Products Industry) and Proteste.