PN urges government to withdraw 'stealth' medicines tariff hike
Health Ministry retorts there will be 'no increase in price of medicine'
Updated 5pm with government statement
The Nationalist Party on Friday called on the government to “immediately withdraw” the legal notice which led to a hike in tariffs on medicine registrations as the Health Ministry insisted no price increases are envisaged.
In a statement, the Opposition accused the government of introducing the legal notice “stealthily, without any form of consultation with stakeholders” and were not mentioned in the budget. They pointed out the increases are more than double in certain cases, with some exceeding €1,000.
“These burden will be reflected directly in the price that patients pay for the medicines they require,” the PN said.
However, the Health Ministry clarified that Legal Notice 254 of 2025 concerned the "revision of the Malta Medicines Authority's fees and contains no increase in the price of medicines" which had not been reviewed in over a decade.
"Not only does the legal notice contain no increases to medicine prices, but some of the fees mentioned by the Nationalist Party will not even apply to importers and exporters of medicines in our country," a ministry statement said.
It added the fees related to services the authority provides to operators in third countries, including medicines that will not be placed on the local market.
Shadow Minister for Health Stephen Spiteri warned the excessive increases could lead to certain medicines being withdrawn from the market.
“Medicines that are not imported in large quantities because the Maltese market is small and limited to a few patients will be hit particularly hard, and the consequence could be that importers, due to the substantial increase in costs, may consider halting importation, negatively impacting those who rely on these medicines,” Spiteri said.
He claimed that Malta is “already last in Europe” in terms of access to innovative medicines, and this decision “may further deprive our patients of the modern treatment to which they are entitled”.
Shadow Minister for Preventive and Primary Care Ian Vassallo said the tarif increases will affect not only those who purchase POYC medicines but also those who need daily medication that must be bought out-of-pocket.
Shadow Minister for Active Ageing Paula Mifsud Bonnici said the elderly will be the most affected by this “new tax” while Graziella Galea, Shadow Minister for Consumer Rights, slammed the decision as “irresponsible”.
“Medicines are not just another commercial product but an essential need,” Galea said.