Shortage of dollars: Increase in prices of medicines punishes patients and their families

“The entire health system is collapsed, there is a shortage of remedies on a national scale. In fact, we have sent notes to the Ministry of Health, the Cancer Program, and each of the hospitals that care for cancer patients, about the lack of remedies in pharmacies. We want them to put it in writing, since they have given us an explanation that The lack of dollars is causing providers to be unable to purchase medications“said Lihetzer Zenteno, representative of the Association of Cancer Patients of the Oncology Hospital.

He said that, as cancer patients, they are requesting an exception, so that purchases are more flexible, because one of the problems they have is that Bolivian buyers do not apply for tenders for certain remedies.

“This causes that, by not having access to medicines in the SUS, the patient makes a pilgrimage for their prescriptions in pharmacies, where there is also a shortage. And to top it off, the little that is found is very expensive, cannot be purchased, and is cuts into treatments,” he added.

According to Zenteno, all hospitals in the public system are in the same situation, with the difference that since cancer is a long-term disease, patients and their families have the possibility of organizing themselves.

“They do not form associations like us, that is why it is not visible, but if you approach the San Juan de Dios, Francés, and all those covered by the SUS hospitals, you can see this,” he assured.

In cancer patients, he said that above all, the main remedies, chemotherapies, are lacking, “hence the alarming situation we are experiencing,” he warned.

Likewise, he indicated that the recent blockades they made outside the Oncology Clinic achieved greater coverage with other medications, but he also recognized that these achievements are scarce due to the problem of dollars.

Andrea Cuéllar is the mother of three children, all with health problems, the oldest has chronic asthma, the second has hypertrophic tonsils, and the youngest has allergic rhinitis and hip dysplasia.

Due to lack of resources and increase in prices, she had to stop her daughter’s treatment for three months, which meant that the crises returned. “The medication is expensive, they are forcing us to look for contraband remedies, we look for the same components in other brands because they are cheaper,” she said.

According to Cuéllar, the remedies from Bagó, SAE, Megalab, Terbol, Euroforma, etc., which are the ones he uses the most in long-term treatments for his little ones, have increased.

“I know that it is not ideal to buy contraband medications, but we adjust to the capacity of our pockets to continue with the treatments,” he explained.

He gave as an example Salbutamol, which comes from Argentina and costs about Bs 22, “right now it is 43,” he lamented, and admitted that he had to start using an alternative that costs Bs 30. “It is the cheapest, smuggled from Brazil,” he said.

To shuffle prices, Cuéllar goes to the smallest pharmacies, where he says smuggled medicines are sold. “They first show the recognized brands, but when you ask them for cheaper, they bring out other alternatives. These are not found in large pharmacies,” he assured, and said that another option is products made in India, which cost up to less than the half.

Paolo Alcón is vice president of relatives of children with cancer. Together with his partner, she had to move from Chuquisaca to Santa Cruz when his only daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. To the expense of medicines he had to add the cost of the stay, without mentioning that both he and his life partner left their jobs.

He is another of those affected by the new prices of remedies, in a disease that is already expensive. “There is a certain increase in costs, and even if it is minimal, an increase will always be a burden, considering that parents of children with cancer must accompany them, leaving work, it affects a lot,” he admitted.

In the case of the chemotherapies he is using for his daughter, he said that they have risen, approximately, from Bs 8,500 to 8,800, but taking into account that this is when purchasing directly from suppliers, thanks to friends who facilitate contacts. “In the pharmacy, this chemotherapy costs over Bs 11,000,” she explained.

For Alcón, in cancer treatment there have always been some remedies that were not covered by the SUS and parents make efforts to obtain them, but he said that “sadly” there are cases of children who do not receive their chemotherapies. “I have witnessed situations like that. Other times children have reactions to certain chemo drugs and the family has to buy one that the insurance does not cover, or voluntary associations collaborate, but the little patients had to wait weeks to receive it,” she shared.

He also said that sometimes there are offers of significant discounts on remedies, or also donations from importers, when the products are close to the expiration date. However, he acknowledged that he did not dare to accept the proposal out of fear.

Alcón said that, in addition to the problem of the prices of the remedies, there is a lack of personnel in key places, such as the transfusion room, where depending on the schedule, even a single person, or two, have been left in charge of everything. Hospital. “These are aspects that do or do not contribute to more patients beating the disease,” he emphasized.

Andrés Martínez, doctor at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, acknowledged that there is a shortage of medicines, “the family always bought some things, but now there are more, including sedatives, antibiotics, and others,” he admitted.

The Association of Pharmacy Owners (Asprofar), through its various subsidiaries, issued statements and declared an emergency before the laboratories’ announcement of an increase in products which they made known through communications. Asprofar disclaims responsibility for the increase.

For his part, the Vice Minister of Budget and Fiscal Accounting, Zenón Mamani, He regretted that some pharmaceutical companies speculate and increase pricess of medicines, despite the fact that dollars are provided through Banco Unión.