Reimbursement prices
If you buy a medicine that entitles you to reimbursement, you should be aware that the size of reimbursement is sometimes lower than what your medicine costs. The reason is that your medicine comes in generic versions that are cheaper than the one you bought. Full reimbursement is only available for the cheapest generic medicine (= the reimbursement price).
Generic medicines contain the same active substances, in the same quantity and in the same form (for example tablets or capsules). The Danish Medicines Agency has evaluated that - from a health-related point of view - it makes no difference which of the generic medicines you are treated with.
The reimbursement price is what counts
It is only the reimbursement price that is included in your CTR balance (the balance in the Central Reimbursement Register). The CTR balance sums up the expenses you have paid for reimbursable medicines during one year.
What if I buy a more expensive medicine?
If you buy one of the more expensive products in a group of generic medicines, you must pay the difference between that product and the cheapest product yourself.
This also means that if you are chronically ill, you could end up paying more than DKK 4,435 annually if you do not always choose the cheapest medicine from the group of generic medicines.
How do I find the reimbursement price?
The pharmacy can tell you the reimbursement price, and you can also look it up at our website www.medicinpriser.dk in the column with the heading "Reimbursement calculated from".
Example
Your doctor has prescribed you a medicine that is available in different generic versions. If the reimbursement rate offered by the regions is 50 %, the three different medicines will in future cost:
Your medicine |
Medicine price in DKK |
Reimbursement price in DKK |
Share paid by the regions in DKK (if 50%) |
Your share in DKK |
|
A |
200 |
200 |
100 |
100 |
|
B |
300 |
200 |
100 |
200 |
|
C |
600 |
200 |
100 |
500 |
The example shows that if you choose the cheapest medicine, your reimbursement will be calculated on the full price of the medicine. If you choose a more expensive medicine at the pharmacy, you must pay the difference between the price actually paid and the reimbursement price of the medicine. This is because reimbursement is calculated based on the cheapest medicine (the reimbursement price).
Why do prices differ that much?
When a company develops a new medicine, its invention is patented. This patent expires after a number of years, and other pharmaceutical companies are then free to copy the original version.
The price of copy medicine (generic medicine) or parallel imported medicine is often lower than the price of the original product. This is because it is far cheaper to copy a medicine than it is to develop it.
Therefore, the price difference does not reflect a variation in neither effect nor quality.