The Actual Impact of Discount Contracts on the German Health System : A Retrospective Evaluation of the Tendering System Effects on the German Health Market Structure and Performance

Different assumptions show that discount policies or tendering systems are the optimal governmental intervention to counteract the growth of the health care system expenditures. The main reason for these expectations is the rapid reduction in the costs of pharmaceutical drugs by applying the exclusive supplement concept on the pharmaceutical industry. The same as in the rest of Europe, in Germany there is a high demand to reduce the health care system expenditures, and utilize the scarce resources efficiently. Thus, it is not surprising that the German government has followed the experience of the European countries, and introduced a discount contract policy that is targeting the pharmaceutical industry in the first place. It is simple to say that the policy has achieved a rapid impact on the pharmaceutical expenditures. However, it is difficult to estimate to what extent the policy would influence the general structure of the German health market in the far or even the near future. Therefore, the study aimed to partially evaluate the actual impact of the Discount contract policy on the German health market.