An amendment to Decree 4 was published on 25 March 2020 in the Chilean Official Gazette, allowing the Undersecretariat of Public Health to set prices and limit purchases:
Thus:
1. The following are incorporated into Article 2, which grants extraordinary powers to the Undersecretariat for Public Health:
- To set the maximum price to be paid by the population in general for certain pharmaceutical products, medical devices, health elements and supplies, as well as for healthcare benefits and services, and all goods and services necessary to meet health needs.
- To limit the maximum number of the aforementioned goods and services which may be sold and delivered to each individual by retail establishments or service providers in the required dose for up to 3 months, provided that conditions for dispensing, storing or supplying the medicine so permit.
In this regard, yesterday, 26 March 2020, Exempt Resolution No. 209 was published in the Official Gazette. The resolution aims at setting the first maximum prices in the following aspects:
- A ceiling price of CLP$25,000 is set to be charged by health care providers to perform the test "Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (P.C.R), influenza virus, herpes virus,
cytomegalovirus, hepatitis C, mycobacterium TBC, SARS CoV-2, each ( including nasopharyngeal swab sample)", code 0306082 of the exempt resolution No. 176 of 1999 of the Ministry of Health, who approved the Fee.
AUTHORS: Ignacio Gillmore, José Ignacio Mercado, Cristina Busquets, Alejandra Del Río, Javiera Péndola.
