Inflated Costs?
Drug Prices: Upper Austria and Salzburg Investigate the Order
Allegations against the Order of the Brothers of Mercy are gaining momentum. After it came to light that medications were being resold internally at inflated prices to boost operating profits, investigations into the matter were announced in Upper Austria and Salzburg.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen On Wednesday, the German news magazine “Spiegel” leveled serious allegations against the Order of the Brothers of Mercy. Broadly speaking, the allegations concern the internal resale of medications and a sophisticated billing system that may have been in place for years.
Serious Allegations
The inflated medication prices may have artificially inflated the costs of the Order’s hospitals and thus likely increased their so-called operating expenses. A large portion of the resulting additional costs may then have been borne by the federal states—and thus by taxpayers and health insurance policyholders. The presumption of innocence applies.
Federal States Respond
The Order operates one hospital each in Linz and Salzburg. Both states emphasized on Thursday that they are investigating the allegations and will take legal action if necessary. However, the results of the investigations are not yet available.
Allegations Have Been Known Since Summer
In Upper Austria, the health department had already learned of the allegations “before the summer” and had involved the state’s financial oversight authority, the office of Deputy Governor Christine Haberlander (ÖVP), who is responsible for health, announced on Thursday.
No In-House Pharmacy in Salzburg
The state of Salzburg also emphasized that it takes the allegations against the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy very seriously. “An investigation has already been initiated and is currently underway,” the state said in response to an APA inquiry. However, it noted that it is not the operating entity of the hospital. Furthermore, the hospital does not have its own pharmacy.
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