Date Time Hide-and-Seek Can Lead to Higher Drug Prices Pharmaceutical manufacturers and national authorities often negotiate secret rebates when determining drug prices. A UZH study shows that these rebate systems may hamper patient access to drugs. In the medium term, this practice can even lead to increasing drug prices. The growing lack of transparency isn’t in the interests of either patients or society at large. (Image: istock.com/alvarez) In Switzerland and other European countries, drug prices are regulated to ensure affordable access to drugs. In the last few years, many European countries have introduced rebate schemes for drugs. In most cases, however, the rebates negotiated with the manufacturer are confidential. This means that a country basically has two prices for a drug: an official, higher price and an actual, lower price. Price comparisons of drugs between countries is frequently based on the higher price. Switzerland too has introduced such rebates, which are often confidential, and plans to anchor this practice in the regulation. The Federal Social Health Insurance Act is currently under revision.