In 2013, when the Socialists came to power, they promised free healthcare. That is, every citizen who paid social and health insurance would receive medical services at no cost. After almost 12 years in government, healthcare in Albania is not free. In fact, data shows that Albanians are paying more and more for medicines.
In the year just ended, the import of pharmaceutical products reached a value of 281 million euros, an increase of 14 million or 5% compared to the previous year. This means that more medicines were consumed by citizens during this period.
Legally, some are covered by the state through reimbursement of the drug list.
The drug reimbursement fund had a ceiling of 120 million euros last year. This value marked a 1% decrease compared to 2023. So, as the need for drugs has increased, the state has paid less to respond to citizens. This means that we have all paid more for drugs.
More specifically, out of the 281 million euros that Albanian citizens have spent on medicines, the state has only reimbursed 120 million euros. Which means that 161 million euros were paid from citizens' own income.
Not only this data, but also previous reports by international institutions rank Albania last in Europe for per capita health spending, given the fact that little is provided by the state and more is covered by the family budget. (A2 Televizion)
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