In May, the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France (FSPF) announced that they had signed new pricing conditions with Health Insurance, committing the entire pharmacy profession to these new conditions. The FSPF stated that the proposed fee increases from Health Insurance would help secure the activity of pharmacy companies and provide essential support for local pharmacies. After a strike and lengthy negotiations, significant increases were obtained, leading to the signature of the conventional amendment proposed by Health Insurance.
Certain fee increases will take effect this year and next year, including dispensing fees, on-call fees, and on-call payments. The commitment also includes a subsidy of up to 20,000 euros for pharmacies facing financial difficulties. However, the FSPF also noted that the future of pharmacies is not guaranteed, despite these positive changes brought about by the amendments to the pharmacists’ convention.
Negotiations towards the conventional amendments began in late 2023 and were finalized with the commitment to maintain pharmacy resources in the network through annual negotiations. The FSPF commended the Minister Delegate in charge of Health for his commitment to publishing a decree granting pharmacists the same margin for biosimilar medicines as for original medicines. This regulatory framework will allow pharmacists to negotiate purchase prices with laboratories for biosimilars.
The Union of Community Pharmacists’ Unions (Uspo) declined to sign the agreement as it stands, citing the need for further commitments from the government to provide compensation for the substitution of biosimilars. The president of Uspo emphasized the importance of increasing pharmacists’ fees to at least 20% to reflect the value and workload of pharmacists compared to other healthcare providers. Overall, the amendments to the pharmacists’ convention represent a significant step forward for the pharmacy profession in France.