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1. Removal of the barriers for market access of medicines (slow administrative procedures within ALIMS, delay in approval of medicines prices)
2. Regular medicines’ prices adjustments with the exchange rate
3. Advocacy for increased transparency in the Health Insurance Fund procedures
4. Amendments of the Law on Medicines and Medical Devices (e.g. decrease administrative burden for approvals for promo material etc.)
5. Advocating for the formation of the Register of Health Institutions within the Serbian Business Registry
6. Utilizing synergies between public and private health care sector: decreasing waiting lists in the public sector by using private facilities (MRI , CT scan, hip replacement, cataract surgery....)
7. Advocating for the amendments of Decree on the voluntary health insurance – decreasing administrative burden for approvals for general conditions and tariffs

As an outcome of two rounds of comments sent during the second half of 2009 to the Ministry of Health, the Law on Medicines and Medical Devices adopted in May, included most of AmCham’s comments and recommendations. In addition, changes to the Law on Health Care, in line with AmCham comments, were adopted by the Parliament in November. In early February, representatives of pharmaceutical companies, both generic and innovative, joined forces with the Inovia fund and the Group of Domestic Producers of Medicines within the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The group sent a letter to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Trade requesting the opening of a technical dialogue regarding installing a mechanism for adjustments of medicine prices in line with the exchange rate. Although the price of medicines has been changed twice since, the call for technical dialogue with regard to installing the exchange rate adjustment mechanism remains unanswered. The Health Care Task Force initiated monthly consultative meetings with the Director of the Serbian Health Insurance Fund (HIF) in February, and four such meetings were held before the new Director came into office. The group continued its cooperation with the new Director, who promised improved response by the Fund in future. He also welcomed suggestions for improving the efficiency of the HIF in terms of the transparency of internal procedures and response to applications.

Moreover, the Health Care Task Force met twice with the Minister of Health, Tomica Milosavljević, to discuss a wide range of policy issues from prices of medicines and transparency of reimbursement regulations and their implementation to opportunities for private-public partnerships (PPP). The Minister said he was open to improving reimbursement regulations and invited AmCham to submit suggestions in writing.

As a follow-up to a meeting with the new Director of HIF and the Minister of Health, the AmCham Health Care Task Force submitted a list of suggestions for improving the internal procedures of the Health Insurance Fund with a special emphasis on procedures for moving medicines on and off the Reimbursement List in line with EU Transparency Directive.

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