Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Jun 2016
Brexit could boost drug costs for Britain’s National Health Service
29 June 2016 - Sharp fall in pound is hurting traders that sell cut-price drugs to the NHS after importing them.
A funding boost for Britain’s National Health Service was one of the campaign promises that carried the Vote Leave campaign to victory in last week’s historic referendum.
But in at least one way, the Brexit vote is likely to hurt the cash-strapped health system. The sharp fall in the pound is hurting traders that sell cut-price drugs to the NHS after importing them from other parts of Europe.
Drugs can be freely traded across European Union borders but, unlike with most goods, individual governments set their prices. So-called parallel importers take advantage of this arrangement by purchasing prescription drugs in member states where the price is lower than in the U.K. and selling them to pharmacy wholesalers at a discount.
