Can't there be two medical insurance shops within 150 meters?

Medical Network News, June 9 With the cancellation of the distance limit for pharmacies in Shanghai, Beijing and other places, it has become more and more convenient to open pharmacies
.
However, some pharmacies are still stuck in another kind of "distance limit
.
"

 

Recently, Mr.
Liu, a retired teacher in Lanling County, Shandong, was very angry: because he needed to buy ticagrelor, atorvastatin, clopidogrel and other medicines .
find one of these drugs can also brush Medicare pharmacy "
.

 

The reason for this situation is that a local pharmacy operator said that it has something to do with the "150 meters distance" of designated pharmacies by local medical insurance
.

 

Medical insurance pharmacies account for 18%

 

It is understood that there are currently more than 400 retail pharmacies in Lanling County, but there are only 72 medical insurance pharmacies
.
Based on this number, the proportion of local medical insurance pharmacies is only 18%.
Although this is closely related to the local medical insurance level, this proportion is low from the perspective of the industry as a whole
.

 

According to the latest data, there are currently more than 550,000 pharmacies in China and more than 390,000 medical insurance pharmacies.
The industry medical insurance pharmacies account for an average of 70%.
According to data from listed chains, the proportion of medical insurance pharmacies is higher than the industry average.
Level
.
According to the recent reading of mainstream chains in the 21st Century Pharmacy News, the stores in major regional chains basically have medical insurance qualifications
.

 

　　The local pharmacy operator stated that there is an unwritten “rule” in the local area: there can be no two medical insurance pharmacies within a 150-meter radius of the county seat; each township can only have one medical insurance pharmacy
.
It is understood that many local pharmacies were rejected for this reason when they applied for medical insurance qualifications
.

 

　　An owner, Mr.
Zhang, who has been operating a pharmacy in the local area for 6 years and has not yet been approved for designated medical insurance, said: "The access to medical insurance designated pharmacies of 9 counties and 3 districts in Linyi City is limited to 150 radius distances only in Lanling County
.
"

 

　　Mr.
Zhang said that most of the current medical insurance pharmacies were approved during the period of Cangshan County (2014 changed to Lanling County) (before January 21, 2014).
Some of them have many varieties, large stores, “conscience” prices, and good service.
For new pharmacies, applications have not been approved for several consecutive years
.
Many urgently needed medicines for cancer patients can only be purchased in Linyi, which makes them very inconvenient
.

 

　　The "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Insurance Designated Points for Retail Pharmacies" implemented on February 1 stipulated that the medical insurance pharmacies’ applications should be coordinated according to public health needs, management service needs, medical security fund revenues and expenditures, and participation.
The drug needs of insurance personnel determine the resource allocation of designated retail pharmacies in the overall planning area
.
Public health needs are ranked first, so many places have set up a 15-minute medical insurance service circle to meet the needs of the public
.

 

　　 "Limited distance" has become a thing of the past

 

　　In fact, with regard to the "distance limit" of medical insurance pharmacies, as early as 2015, the State Council issued the "Decision on the First Batch of Canceling 62 Administrative Examination and Approval Items for Central Designated Localities", and decided to cancel the first batch of 62 administrative approvals for centrally designated localities.
Matters
.
This includes the approval of designated pharmacies for medical insurance
.
Since then, various places have cancelled the "distance limit" of designated pharmacies for medical insurance
.

 

　　In the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Security Designation of Retail Pharmacies" implemented on February 1, there is also no "limit" in the application conditions for pharmacies
.

 

　　The "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Security in Retail Pharmacies" mentions that retail pharmacies that have obtained a drug business license and also meet the following conditions can apply for medical security:

 

　　 (1) Formally operate at the registered address for at least 3 months;

 

　　 (2) At least one pharmacist who has obtained a licensed pharmacist qualification certificate or has a professional and technical qualification certificate in pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, and Chinese pharmacy, and the registered place is at the location of the retail pharmacy.
The pharmacist must sign a labor contract for more than 1 year and within the contract period ；

 

　　 (3) At least 2 full-time (part-time) medical insurance administrators who are familiar with medical security laws and regulations and related systems are responsible for managing medical insurance expenses, and have signed a labor contract for more than one year and within the contract period;

 

　　 (4) In accordance with the requirements of drug business quality management regulations, carry out drug classification and district management, and establish clear medical insurance drug labels for the drugs sold;

 

　　 (5) Having a medical insurance drug management system, financial management system, medical insurance personnel management system, statistical information management system, and medical insurance expense settlement system that meet the management requirements of the medical insurance agreement;

 

　　 (6) Have information system technology and interface standards that meet the management requirements of the medical insurance agreement, realize effective docking with the medical insurance information system, provide direct online settlement for the insured personnel, establish basic databases such as medical insurance drugs, and use the national unified medical insurance code as required;

 

　　 (7) Comply with other conditions stipulated by laws and regulations and medical security administrative departments at the provincial level and above
.

 

　　The “Shandong Province Medical Security Fund Supervision and Management Measures (Trial)” implemented in January 2020 stipulates the approval and establishment of medical insurance stores as follows: follow a reasonable layout, meet demand, have access and exit, dynamic management, total volume control, and The principle of growth and strengthening of supervision, based on factors such as medical service resources in the region , serving population, fund support capacity, and medical needs of insured personnel, scientifically formulate a regional layout plan for designated medical institutions, and publish them to the society in a unified manner
.

 

　　If the statement of the local pharmacy operator in Lanling is true, can the 72 medical insurance stores meet the needs of consumers and are they in line with the principles of reasonable layout?

 

　　At present, only a few places such as Hebei have clearly defined the "distance limit"
.
The "Hebei Province Medical Security Designated Medical Institutions Incorporating Implementation Rules (Trial)" implemented in August 2020 mentioned that new designated pharmacies should follow "the main urban area or densely populated areas, and serve 3,000 people or within a radius of 500 meters.
" There is no designated medical institution of the same type; if there is no designated medical institution of the same type within a radius of 1 km in a non-main urban area or a non-crowded area, the designated medical institution can be declared
.
For the county (non-urban area) or remote areas, the distance restrictions can be appropriately relaxed according to the layout.
" And other principles
.
Even so, relative to 150 meters, the "limit" range can be said to be relatively loose
.

 

　　It's getting harder and harder without medical insurance

 

　　For pharmacies, the importance of medical insurance is self-evident
.
According to data from Minai.
com, retail pharmacy sales in 2020 will reach 433 billion yuan, while data from the National Medical Insurance Bureau show that nearly half of the amount in personal medical insurance accounts is spent in pharmacies.
This part of the amount is more than 200 billion yuan.
You can see the sales of medical insurance to pharmacies.
How big is the contribution
?

 

　　Not only that, medical insurance is an important income channel for pharmacies.
For consumers, whether they have medical insurance qualification is an important consideration for pharmacy brand, strength, and whether to enter the store for consumption
.

 

　　Especially for some patients with chronic diseases, only medical insurance stores will go in for consumption, but if as mentioned above, consumers have to travel a lot of places to find a medical insurance pharmacy with complete medicines.
This is for consumers and other non-medical insurance companies.
It is unfair to point to a designated pharmacy
.

 

　　From another perspective, the above-mentioned 72 medical insurance pharmacies have a relatively high competitive advantage in the market, coupled with the fact that new pharmacies have not been opened to include medical insurance for many years, and a monopoly has formed to a certain extent
.

 

　　Mr.
Zou, a pharmacy operator in Lanling County who has been operating a pharmacy for 15 years, said: “If industry barriers are artificially created and individual pharmacies monopolize medical insurance, it will be unfair and not conducive to market competition.
Small and medium pharmacies without medical insurance, It will be harder and harder to survive alone
.
"

 

　　A similar situation occurred as early as the "limited distance" period of medical insurance pharmacies
.
According to the Yangcheng Evening News, in 2013, a certain chain accounted for 94 of the 141 designated pharmacies in Dongguan, Guangdong.
At that time, there were more than 7,000 pharmacies in Dongguan.
This made it inconvenient for the insured to purchase drugs and made other pharmacies "voice".
Constantly, I hope that the relevant departments can relax the policy
.

　　Medical Network News, June 9 With the cancellation of the distance limit for pharmacies in Shanghai, Beijing and other places, it has become more and more convenient to open pharmacies
.
However, some pharmacies are still stuck in another kind of "distance limit
.
"

 

　　Recently, Mr.
Liu, a retired teacher in Lanling County, Shandong, was very angry: because he needed to buy ticagrelor, atorvastatin, clopidogrel and other medicines .
find one of these drugs can also brush Medicare pharmacy "
.

 

　　The reason for this situation is that a local pharmacy operator said that it has something to do with the "150 meters distance" of designated pharmacies by local medical insurance
.

 

　　Medical insurance pharmacies account for 18%

 

　　It is understood that there are currently more than 400 retail pharmacies in Lanling County, but there are only 72 medical insurance pharmacies
.
Based on this number, the proportion of local medical insurance pharmacies is only 18%.
Although this is closely related to the local medical insurance level, this proportion is low from the perspective of the industry as a whole
.

 

　　According to the latest data, there are currently more than 550,000 pharmacies in China and more than 390,000 medical insurance pharmacies.
The industry medical insurance pharmacies account for an average of 70%.
According to data from listed chains, the proportion of medical insurance pharmacies is higher than the industry average.
Level
.
According to the recent reading of mainstream chains in the 21st Century Pharmacy News, the stores in major regional chains basically have medical insurance qualifications
.

 

　　The local pharmacy operator stated that there is an unwritten “rule” in the local area: there can be no two medical insurance pharmacies within a 150-meter radius of the county seat; each township can only have one medical insurance pharmacy
.
It is understood that many local pharmacies were rejected for this reason when they applied for medical insurance qualifications
.

 

　　An owner, Mr.
Zhang, who has been operating a pharmacy in the local area for 6 years and has not yet been approved for designated medical insurance, said: "The access to medical insurance designated pharmacies of 9 counties and 3 districts in Linyi City is limited to 150 radius distances only in Lanling County
.
"

 

　　Mr.
Zhang said that most of the current medical insurance pharmacies were approved during the period of Cangshan County (2014 changed to Lanling County) (before January 21, 2014).
Some of them have many varieties, large stores, “conscience” prices, and good service.
For new pharmacies, applications have not been approved for several consecutive years
.
Many urgently needed medicines for cancer patients can only be purchased in Linyi, which makes them very inconvenient
.

 

　　The "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Insurance Designated Points for Retail Pharmacies" implemented on February 1 stipulated that the medical insurance pharmacies’ applications should be coordinated according to public health needs, management service needs, medical security fund revenues and expenditures, and participation.
The drug needs of insurance personnel determine the resource allocation of designated retail pharmacies in the overall planning area
.
Public health needs are ranked first, so many places have set up a 15-minute medical insurance service circle to meet the needs of the public
.

 

　　 "Limited distance" has become a thing of the past

 

　　In fact, with regard to the "distance limit" of medical insurance pharmacies, as early as 2015, the State Council issued the "Decision on the First Batch of Canceling 62 Administrative Examination and Approval Items for Central Designated Localities", and decided to cancel the first batch of 62 administrative approvals for centrally designated localities.
Matters
.
This includes the approval of designated pharmacies for medical insurance
.
Since then, various places have cancelled the "distance limit" of designated pharmacies for medical insurance
.

 

　　In the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Security Designation of Retail Pharmacies" implemented on February 1, there is also no "limit" in the application conditions for pharmacies
.

 

　　The "Interim Measures for the Administration of Medical Security in Retail Pharmacies" mentions that retail pharmacies that have obtained a drug business license and also meet the following conditions can apply for medical security:

 

　　 (1) Formally operate at the registered address for at least 3 months;

 

　　 (2) At least one pharmacist who has obtained a licensed pharmacist qualification certificate or has a professional and technical qualification certificate in pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, and Chinese pharmacy, and the registered place is at the location of the retail pharmacy.
The pharmacist must sign a labor contract for more than 1 year and within the contract period ；

 

　　 (3) At least 2 full-time (part-time) medical insurance administrators who are familiar with medical security laws and regulations and related systems are responsible for managing medical insurance expenses, and have signed a labor contract for more than one year and within the contract period;

 

　　 (4) In accordance with the requirements of drug business quality management regulations, carry out drug classification and district management, and establish clear medical insurance drug labels for the drugs sold;

 

　　 (5) Having a medical insurance drug management system, financial management system, medical insurance personnel management system, statistical information management system, and medical insurance expense settlement system that meet the management requirements of the medical insurance agreement;

 

　　 (6) Have information system technology and interface standards that meet the management requirements of the medical insurance agreement, realize effective docking with the medical insurance information system, provide direct online settlement for the insured personnel, establish basic databases such as medical insurance drugs, and use the national unified medical insurance code as required;

 

　　 (7) Comply with other conditions stipulated by laws and regulations and medical security administrative departments at the provincial level and above
.

 

　　The “Shandong Province Medical Security Fund Supervision and Management Measures (Trial)” implemented in January 2020 stipulates the approval and establishment of medical insurance stores as follows: follow a reasonable layout, meet demand, have access and exit, dynamic management, total volume control, and The principle of growth and strengthening of supervision, based on factors such as medical service resources in the region , serving population, fund support capacity, and medical needs of insured personnel, scientifically formulate a regional layout plan for designated medical institutions, and publish them to the society in a unified manner
.

 

　　If the statement of the local pharmacy operator in Lanling is true, can the 72 medical insurance stores meet the needs of consumers and are they in line with the principles of reasonable layout?

 

　　At present, only a few places such as Hebei have clearly defined the "distance limit"
.
The "Hebei Province Medical Security Designated Medical Institutions Incorporating Implementation Rules (Trial)" implemented in August 2020 mentioned that new designated pharmacies should follow "the main urban area or densely populated areas, and serve 3,000 people or within a radius of 500 meters.
" There is no designated medical institution of the same type; if there is no designated medical institution of the same type within a radius of 1 km in a non-main urban area or a non-crowded area, the designated medical institution can be declared
.
For the county (non-urban area) or remote areas, the distance restrictions can be appropriately relaxed according to the layout.
" And other principles
.
Even so, relative to 150 meters, the "limit" range can be said to be relatively loose
.

 

　　It's getting harder and harder without medical insurance

 

　　For pharmacies, the importance of medical insurance is self-evident
.
According to data from Minai.
com, retail pharmacy sales in 2020 will reach 433 billion yuan, while data from the National Medical Insurance Bureau show that nearly half of the amount in personal medical insurance accounts is spent in pharmacies.
This part of the amount is more than 200 billion yuan.
You can see the sales of medical insurance to pharmacies.
How big is the contribution
?

 

　　Not only that, medical insurance is an important income channel for pharmacies.
For consumers, whether they have medical insurance qualification is an important consideration for pharmacy brand, strength, and whether to enter the store for consumption
.

 

　　Especially for some patients with chronic diseases, only medical insurance stores will go in for consumption, but if as mentioned above, consumers have to travel a lot of places to find a medical insurance pharmacy with complete medicines.
This is for consumers and other non-medical insurance companies.
It is unfair to point to a designated pharmacy
.

 

　　From another perspective, the above-mentioned 72 medical insurance pharmacies have a relatively high competitive advantage in the market, coupled with the fact that new pharmacies have not been opened to include medical insurance for many years, and a monopoly has formed to a certain extent
.

 

　　Mr.
Zou, a pharmacy operator in Lanling County who has been operating a pharmacy for 15 years, said: “If industry barriers are artificially created and individual pharmacies monopolize medical insurance, it will be unfair and not conducive to market competition.
Small and medium pharmacies without medical insurance, It will be harder and harder to survive alone
.
"

 

　　A similar situation occurred as early as the "limited distance" period of medical insurance pharmacies
.
According to the Yangcheng Evening News, in 2013, a certain chain accounted for 94 of the 141 designated pharmacies in Dongguan, Guangdong.
At that time, there were more than 7,000 pharmacies in Dongguan.
This made it inconvenient for the insured to purchase drugs and made other pharmacies "voice".
Constantly, I hope that the relevant departments can relax the policy
.