Pharmacies Ask Panama’s Mulino to Fully Veto Bill 226 on Retiree Drug Discounts

Panama’s pharmacy owners are asking President José Raúl Mulino to reject a bill designed to reduce medicine costs for older adults, retirees and pensioners. The National Union of Pharmacy Owners, known as Unprofa, says it supports the goal but opposes the way the measure would compensate pharmacies.

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unsustainable

Bill 226 would reimburse the mandatory discounts through a credit against income tax. Unprofa says that system could leave pharmacies unable to recover the full amount. It gives the example of a pharmacy granting B/.500 a month in discounts while generating only B/.300 in income tax, leaving a B/.200 shortfall.

The union calls that gap “a direct and irrecoverable loss of working capital,” rather than a credit that pharmacies could use later. It says the burden would fall most heavily on small and medium-sized community pharmacies, which operate on margins of 15% to 20%, have limited product catalogs and lack the scale of large chains.

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a direct and irrecoverable loss of working capital

Unprofa argues that major chains could absorb the cost more easily because they handle more transactions, have diversified margins and operate other business lines. If the bill takes effect unchanged, the union warns that community pharmacies could close, reducing access in neighborhoods and rural areas while increasing market concentration and costing local jobs.

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This does not protect older adults. On the contrary, it leaves them more alone

The group proposed talks with the national government and the ministries responsible for commerce, finance and health. It wants direct reimbursement instead of a deferred tax credit, along with different rules for neighborhood pharmacies and chains. “This does not protect older adults. On the contrary, it leaves them more alone,” Unprofa said.

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A rule that closes community pharmacies protects no one. It leaves everyone more vulnerable