Authorized prices

The criteria used to fix the individual prices of drugs in each country that opts for this type of system are various the therapeutic value of new products, the cost of comparable treatment, the manufacturer s contribution to the national economy and the observed price in other countries. Table 3.2 shows a comparison of the use of these criteria in several OECD countries according to the answers given to a survey carried out in each country. As can be seen from the table, all the countries that responded to the survey acknowledge use of the comparison of authorized prices in other countries as a price-setting criterion. 

In contrast to this, the main objective of price regulation in Spain is to contain the pharmaceutical bill of the SNS.14 The Directorate-General of Pharmacy fixes the ex-factory price of each and every one of the presentations of the pharmaceuticals included in public health care. This authorized price is the maximum ruling price in both the public health sector and direct sales to the public in pharmacies. Laboratories can only make price increases above the maximum price fixed for each presentation when the government authorizes a general price revision. The markups of distributing wholesalers and pharmacists are also fixed by the authorities as a percentage over the exfactory price. 

In general, however, this initial analysis is open to doubt, in view of the high degree of intervention in Spanish drug prices and the fact that authorized prices are regarded as maximum prices, although this is not always sufficiently stressed. These two factors complicate any forecast of the possible outcome of the competition induced by RP in the Spanish pharmaceutical market. 

Despite this fact, beyond the pressure exerted on the laboratories, almost none of the measures that have been implemented in Spain (negative lists, RP, control of authorized prices, generic introduction, transfer of return above an agreed threshold and price or markup reduction by decree) have any direct influence on the day-to-day development of expenditure and its key protagonists users, pharmacies and above all prescribes. 

Rovira s proposals22 regarding drug price indexes are still relevant today. Lobato19 considers that the consumer price index (CPI) is not a suitable deflator for series of pharmaceutical expenditure (it leads to absurd conclusions real consumption would not have risen between 1969 and 1989). A deflator built on authorized price reviews leads to the opposite result, likewise illogical (the Social Security demand cannot have risen 12.5 times between 1969 and 1989). Consequently, the author constructs an ad hoc deflator which... 

Lobato19 studies the direct control of drag prices in Spain based on the difficulty of inspecting costs it is complicated to allocate fixed costs and estimate the size of the market for each product. Revisions of authorized prices to make up for inflation would have been insufficient. The main conclusion is the... 

Health technology assessment organizations are the government agencies that apply pharmacoeconomic data to make marketing authorization, pricing, and reimbiirsement decisions. 

True BASIC. Several modestly priced versions (starting < 50) of True BASIC are available from its authors at True BASIC Inc., 1523 Maple St., Harlford, VT 05047-0501 (www.truebasic.com). True BASIC is transportable to many operating systems, including Unix and Linux. Detailed tutorial manuals are available, including one on numerical methods. 

Other expansions of FDA s authority include the Dmg Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly known as the 1984 Amendments or the Waxman-Hatch Act, which was passed to attain quicker marketing of safe, effective, and less expensive generic dmgs and the Safe Medical Device Amendments of 1990, which was passed to correct perceived weaknesses in the implementation of the 1976 Device Amendments. Congress further expanded FDA authority over nutrition labeling and health and nutrient content claims on food labels with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. 

The simplest way of assessing the economics of a new power plant is to calculate the unit price of electricity produced by the plant (e.g. /kWh) and compare it with that of a conventional plant. This is the method adopted by many authors [1,2]. Other methods involving net present values may also be used [3,4]. 

WEC. (1995). Energy Efficiency Utilizing High Technology An Assessment of Energy Use in Industry and Buildings, prepared by M. D. Levine, E. Worrell, N. Martin, and L. Price. London Author. 

Bay Area Economic Forum. (1990). Congestion Pricing— The Concept. Oakland, CA Author. 

It is important to note that the fitting according to eq. (1) requires zero intercept behavior i.e., F =. 00 for H (for which Oj = Or =. 00). While we recognize that the data for the unsubstituted (H) member of a set may be as subject to experimental error as any other member, such error is generally relatively small for a set of reliable data. Any constant error from this source will be distributed among all of the substituents in such a manner as to achieve best fit. Any loss in precision of fitting of the set which may result by such a procedure we believe is a small price to pay compared to the violence done by introduction in eq. (I) of a completely variable constant parameter. The latter procedure has been utilized by other authors both in treatments by the simple Hammett equation and by the dual substituent parameter equation. 

Emissions in excess of allotted levels are taxed. As an incentive to clean up emissions, companies that emit less than their allotted amounts are allowed to sell their unsued portions (so-called emission credits) to other companies. Several years ago, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which operates 11 coal-fired electricity plants, purchased emission credits from Wisconsin Power and Light. The TVA bought pollution rights for the emission of 1.00 X 10 tons of sulfur dioxide per year at a price of 275 per ton. How much will it cost to emit 1 mol of SO2 How many molecules can be emitted for 1.00 ... 

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