Russian Officials Claim Free Drug Prescriptions Soaring

Russian government officials have claimed that prescriptions for patients entitled to free drugs under the country's new reimbursement framework have risen by between six and 10 times this year. The country's statistics bureau claims that Russia imported drugs worth $2.83 billion in 2004.

A series of reforms, which nominally came into effect at the start of the year, awards sufferers of chronic illnesses and others free treatment. The new system replaces benefits with cash payments, as part of the government's new US$1.8bn reimbursement structure, itself a novelty in Russia.