The Civic Coalition (CC) submitted a complaint to the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC) for “potential cartelization conduct” in the prepaid pharmaceutical services market. Society creating the Argentine Health Union (UAS) to raise prices for users and providers.
The presentation is due to the “configuration of the anti-competitive practice provided for in subsection A of Article 2 of Law 27,422 on the Defense of Competition”, for which “users will face a possible increase in prepaid drug prices” of DNU 70/2023. Schemes from implementation to date,” Sisi indicated in his presentation.
this is a “The conduct is legally recognized as being grossly restrictive of competition and causing harm to the general economic interest,” he warned.
The political party argued that the main companies providing the above service had participated in this “anti-competitive conduct” and that according to statements seen in the media by their directors, they accounted for more than half of the total users of the entire prepaid Are. The pharmaceutical market in Argentina”.
The CC’s presentation bears the signatures of leaders Hernán Reyes, Maximiliano Ferraro, Rubén Horacio Manzi and Juan Facundo del Gaiso, who are represented by lawyer Federico Esswin.
“These companies, which have some type of records as a result of Claudio Bellocopite’s journalistic statements and his subsequent rise, will, initially, be held by companies that are part of the UAS,” the complainants explained. He attached the circulars of Swiss Medical, Medif, German Hospital, British Hospital, Galen, Omint “as a test” and – he added – “through the media it became known that the same thing happens with OSDE.”
Complaint filed against prepaid drug companies for cartelization and price gouging. Read here 📰⬇️ https://t.co/arwscy23wf
– ARI Civic Coalition (@ccari_ok) 16 January 2024
He explained that “as a result of the market analysis process, the assessment of the conditions and conduct that actually took place and new evidence that may arise after the initiation of the summary, the list of companies involved in potential cartelization may be expanded or modified.”
In this regard he requested “The behavior of the UAS should be analyzed and whether its rules or practices comply with CNDC standards regarding this type of commercial operators.”
They also attached “journalistic notes presumably from one of the people involved saying: that there were meetings to coordinate the setting of increases for users; an estimated increase of about 40% was set for users;” They presumably agreed upon contractual policies with their suppliers in the provision of service; And they estimate that agreed pricing policies could impact an average of 30% of service users’ losses.”
For the complainants, “this last statement is contradictory” because “the loss of 30% of users is significant in practically any analyzed market.”
He said, “The facts described by Claudio Bellocopite clearly reflect a direct combination of the prices for the supply of a service to users as well as the demand of its suppliers.”
“Despite this, the cartelized parties may have accepted this outcome as tolerable collateral damage (…) they continued the conduct and decided to effectively implement the nearly 40% increase in proposed prepaid drug plans and “Continued coordinated action for this in the coming months,” he explained.
Then this proposal was made “These practices should turn on warning lights in this CNDC, throughout the Ministry of Commerce and in the Superintendency of Health Services.”
“The presumption of independence expressed by the new administration cannot contradict regulatory compliance by officers on duty. The duty to monitor, control and ultimately sanction this type of behavior is not available given the ideological beliefs of the officers Is.” C.C.
Finally, he warned that “inaction on the part of officials in charge, if any, would amount to a breach of their duties and would result in corresponding administrative and criminal sanctions.”