I refer to a recent article in another section of the press Registration for the pharmacy of your choice scheme (The Times, 27 September), where it said that only diabetics and those possessing a yellow card are eligible to register. The reason why, I think, pink card medicine holders will no longer be entitled to free medicines is probably to cut down on abuses. Pink card patients are supposed to be people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. However, not all are genuine cases.

Some are not poor at all. Unfortunately, “mal-hazin jehel it-tajjeb”, they say. In fact there are, on the other hand, thousands of poor Maltese families, or single parents and elderly people who are in real need of the pink card.

But if the government will be giving the pharmacy owners Lm8 per entitled patient annually, why are owners accepting to lose the thousands of pink cardholders?

The reason is obvious. In the long run they will be making more money because these poor people will then have to buy their regular necessary pharmaceuticals from private pharmacies.

The government is also happy because it will cut down on the abuses of common medicines. So, it is a win-win situation for both the government and the pharmacy owners.



J. Busuttil

Zabbar