The price of prescription drugs dropped from 1 January 2023, with a reduction of just under six percent in the average cost of medication.
New rules on the margin pharmacists are allowed to charge are responsible for the reduced costs.
The move cuts around 40 million euros from the bill for medication, with the benefits accruing both to patients and Kela, the social insurance institution, which refunds a portion of the cost of prescription medication.
Money saved will go towards meeting the cost of new rules on carer ratios in residential care homes.
The price reduction in pharmacies varies from 0.2 percent to 9 percent depending on the wholesale price of the drug itself.
The most expensive medications see the biggest reductions, with drugs costing 15,000 euros in 2022 now available for 13,800 euros, according to the Association of Finnish Pharmacies.