BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO.3968 HINA ZAGREB, 19 APRIL 2001

HR-POLITICS-BULLETIN-Politika BRIEF NEWS BULLETIN IN ENGLISH NO.3968 HINA ZAGREB, 19 APRIL 2001 PRICES OF DRUGS TO DROP IN CROATIAZAGREB, April 19 (Hina) - The prices of some 80 percent of medicines in Croatia could drop by 5-20 percent in the near future after the introduction of a reference price system envisaged by a set of amendments to the Law on Medicines and Medical Products, which were endorsed by the government on Thursday. The reference price system takes the prices of medicines abroad as the basis for determining Croatian prices. This would put an end to bidding in price-setting for medicines, while ensuring saving and rationalisation. A special agency for medicines and medical products will be established in the autumn to share the work done by the Health Ministry and the Croatian Health Insurance Institute, said Deputy Health Minister Rajko Ostojic. The government today also okayed a model of subsidised house-building which should enable people to buy their first flat unde