Multiple Regions Report Credit Violations by Pharma Companies Following Centralized Procurement Participation
Hanchen Pharmaceutical
Liquid Pharmaceutical R&D and Production Manufacturer
▍Author: Changfeng
01
Multiple Areas Launch
Credit Rating of Pharmaceutical Companies After Participating in Centralized Procurement
On September 8, the Shanxi Provincial Medicine and Device Centralized Bidding and Procurement Center issued a notice stating that following the announcement of the winning results of the volume-based procurement in the Guangdong Alliance Drug Centralized Procurement, the results will be implemented in Shanxi Province starting from December 20, 2022.
As of now, some selected enterprises have not initiated contract signing, which goes against the principle of good faith. According to the relevant provisions of the "Implementation Opinions on Establishing a Credit Evaluation System for Medical Prices and Bidding Procurement" issued by the Shanxi Provincial Medical Security Bureau, it is proposed to carry out credit rating work for related pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises.
This notice involvesCentralized Procurement of Common and Chronic Disease Medicines in Guangdong, Centralized Procurement of Traditional Chinese Medicine such as Qingkailing in Guangdong, Centralized Procurement of Medicines such as Diclofenac in GuangdongSome pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises that have not signed contracts in projects such as...
The notice requires that 18 pharmaceutical companies, including Wuhan Fuxing Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Hanchen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., must collect the notification letter from the Shanxi Province Medicine and Equipment Centralized Bidding Procurement Center before September 12.
According to relevant regulations, after being selected in the centralized procurementThe contract has not been initiated and notMaintaining distribution relationships are common reasons for enterprises being rated as "untrustworthy."
Recently,Gansu, Henan, Fujian, Hainan and other places have all announced the results of the rating of dishonesty levels in centralized procurement.
Gansu
On September 4, the Gansu Province Drug and Medical Consumables Procurement Management System issued a notice requiring all relevant enterprises and medical institutions to conduct self-inspection and rectification of dishonest behaviors in centralized procurement. Subsequently, the system will re-extract data and issue notifications regarding the handling of dishonest behaviors. The notice also emphasized that the results of handling dishonest behaviors will be implemented on an accumulative basis.
Henan
Not long ago, the Henan Province Pharmaceutical Centralized Procurement Platform released the 2nd phase of the "Severe" and "Especially Severe" dishonesty rating results in price bidding and procurement credit evaluations. Two pharmaceutical companies were rated as "Severely" dishonest, and the listing, bidding, and distribution qualifications of their related products in Henan have been suspended.
Fujian
In the third batch of enterprise credit evaluations recently released by the Fujian Provincial Medical Device Procurement Center, five pharmaceutical companies were rated as having general dishonesty. Four of them are centralized procurement winning enterprises. These include selected drugs from the third batch of national centralized procurement, selected drugs from the seventh batch of national centralized procurement, and selected products from the second batch of provincial centralized volume procurement. Relevant products have been reported by multiple medical institutions and municipal medical insurance bureaus to be unable to supply normally, which has had a certain impact on clinical use in medical institutions.
Therefore, the Fujian Provincial Medical Device Procurement Center, in accordance with Article 1.5 of the "Discretionary Benchmark for Pharmaceutical Price and Tender Credit Rating (2020 Edition)"—"Without justifiable reasons, refusing to fulfill purchase and sale or distribution contracts, and failing to inform the centralized procurement agency and the purchasing entity one month in advance, but without causing serious impact on clinical diagnosis and treatment order"—rated the company's credit level as "General."
Hainan
Hainan Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau recently issued a document requiring direct credit evaluation for large infusion drug manufacturers with a distribution rate lower than 70% for two consecutive months from April 28 to June 27 this year, or those still engaging in selective supply after April 28. The manufacturers are required to replace their distributors; for those still having distribution issues after July 27, the selected enterprise replacement mechanism will be initiated. The results of the credit evaluation will be reported to the Price and Bidding Center of the National Healthcare Security Administration simultaneously, serving as a primary reference for subsequent rules in drug bidding and listing, the continuation and replacement of selected enterprises in centralized procurement, and the joint disciplinary mechanism under the pharmaceutical bidding price guidance framework.
According to the "Guiding Opinions on Establishing a Credit Evaluation System for Pharmaceutical Prices and Tendering Procurement" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration, based on factors such as the nature, circumstances, duration, and impact of dishonest behaviors, pharmaceutical enterprises' dishonesty in the local tendering and procurement market is rated into four levels: general, moderate, severe, and particularly severe. Corresponding measures will be taken based on the credit rating of pharmaceutical enterprises, including written reminders and warnings, restrictions or suspension of online listings for related drugs or medical consumables.
In the credit evaluation of medical price bidding and procurementEnterprises rated as "serious" and "particularly serious,"At the lighter end, they face restrictions or suspension of the listing, bidding, or distribution qualifications for the pharmaceuticals or medical consumables involved; at the heavier end, all drugs produced by the company will be subject to such penalties.
However, although multiple provinces have issued notifications regarding companies with delivery issues after winning centralized procurement bids,However, under the current frequency and scope of centralized procurement, the proportion of enterprises breaching trust after winning bids is very small relative to the total volume of中标药品.
Irrational quotations, rising costs, and the inability to supply at current prices are all common reasons for a company's breach of trust.
Under the volume-based procurement, companies exchange price for volume, but the selected pharmaceutical enterprises need to consider many cost factors if they want to profitably deliver products to relevant medical institutions.Including the drug prices after centralized procurement, reasonable expenditures for enterprises to maintain their operations, employee wages, storage fees for drugs in warehouses, logistics costs, depreciation of equipment, etc.. Although winning bids in centralized procurement has become a strategy for many pharmaceutical companies, the quotations must be rationally calculated and analyzed considering the subsequent distribution costs.
03
Strengthening the Implementation of Centralized Procurement: An Inevitable Trend
Recently, multiple regions have strengthened the requirements for ensuring the supply of centrally procured drugs.Strengthened the implementation and enforcement of centralized procurement, as well as the monitoring of its usage.
Shanxi
Shanxi Province Releases the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Monitoring and Management of the Procurement and Use of Selected Products in Centralized Bulk Procurement of Medicines and Medical Consumables"Including the procurement progress of selected products, the proportion of selected products in procurement quantity, the proportion of non-selected products, as well as the inspection and monitoring of violations such as offline procurement, inaccurate uploaded data, abnormal orders, and delayed payment of goods.
Qinghai
Qinghai ProvinceThe Medical Insurance Bureau issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Implementation of Centralized Bulk Procurement of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Consumables," proposing that the reporting of quantities by medical institutions will not only be linked to the surplus retention funds of medical insurance but will also be strictly tied to the execution of the reported quantities.
Gansu
Gansu Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau Releases "Notice on the Public Disclosure of Proposed Handling Opinions on Enterprise Dishonest Behavior in Drug Centralized Procurement Work," Announcing Related Lists Involving Two Types of Dishonest Behavior, Including Enterprises and Medical Institutions That Failed to Establish All Delivery Relationships or Sign Procurement Agreements Within the Specified Timeframe. Among them, 23 enterprises and drugs that failed to maintain delivery relationships in 10 or more regions were recorded with "Bad Record" once; 32 enterprises and drugs that failed to maintain delivery relationships in fewer than 10 regions were recorded with "Warning" once.
To ensure the implementation of centralized procurement, besides requiring relevant enterprises to avoid dishonest behaviors, it is also necessary for medical institutions to report accurate quantities, reducing situations like "procurement without actual purchase" and "purchase without use."
Currently, Sichuan, Shanxi and other places have already started the volume reporting work for the 9th National Drug Centralized Procurement in China. According to relevant rules, the 9th procurement places greater emphasis on the accuracy and refinement of volume reporting.
According to the relevant documents of the National Medical Security Administration:
Sichuan Province Medical Device Bidding and Procurement Service Center requires that medical insurance departments at all levels compare the reported procurement volume of medical institutions with the historical procurement volume of 2022. If the reported volume is less than 80% of the historical procurement volume, an explanation must be provided. Medical institutions with historical procurement volume but not participating in the reporting must be given special attention.
The Drug and Medical Device Centralized Bidding and Procurement Center of Shanxi Province proposed that for the varieties newly included in the medical insurance directory in 2021 and 2022, considering their increasing usage, the reported quantity should strive to reach 100% of the historical procurement volume.
