Radical policy change in Germany's health system in 2011: The case of patented drug regulation

Abstract

This present thesis is an analysis of radical policy change in Germany's health system. The pharmaceutical industry was stopped to determine freely the prices of patented drugs in 2011; this is what is defined as radical change in the study. This thesis is based on Kingdon' s (1995) multiple stream approach and has three main objectives: first to understand the timing of this radical change in 2011, second to explain the change of behavior of political parties towards this change in 2011. Third objective is to explain why Germany was a latecomer compared to the other European countries to stop the pharmaceutical industry from free price setting. Germany was with Malta and Denmark the only European countries where the pharmaceutical industry enjoyed this freedom until 2011. The decisive explaining variables which made a policy change in 2011 possible in contrast to various attempts in the past were that the pharmaceutical industry and CDU/CSU and FDP did not block this radical change. The explanation why CDU/CSU and FDP and the pharmaceutical industry did not block it has a strategically explanation: The policy change in 2011 was dominated by problem solving in the sphere of politics, which was, finding a way to prove CDU/CSU and FDP was capable of action. Germany has a very big and strong pharmaceutical industry compared to other European countries which leads to the suggestion that this is the explanation why Germany is such a latecomer in matters of drug regulation.