The news website Rouydad24 reported that the implementation of the so-called “Daroyar” plan and the removal of the 42,000-rial preferential exchange rate have led to an average 70% increase in the cost of medicine, medical equipment, and healthcare services.
Rouydad24 wrote on Monday, November 10, that the Daroyar plan—intended to offset drug price increases through insurance reimbursements—has failed to meet its main goal, leaving the financial burden directly on the people.
The outlet added: “In practice, the rising exchange rate and the liquidity shortage among pharmaceutical and medical importers—along with overall inflation and growing costs of packaging, transportation, and energy—have made it impossible for medical centers to consistently meet their needs, forcing patients to buy drugs and medical supplies directly from the market.”
Pharmacists and Doctors Concerned Over the Impact of Rising Drug Prices and Shortages in Iran
According to the report, the surge in drug prices stems from three key factors, each playing a decisive role in the disorder of Iran’s pharmaceutical market.
First, the failure of the Daroyar plan has caused the price difference to be paid by citizens instead of being covered by insurance.
Second, financial imbalances within the Social Security Organization and insurance companies, combined with fixed service tariffs, have prevented real compensation for costs.
Third, profiteering networks and the pharmaceutical mafia—through hoarding and black-market sales—have kept prices artificially high.
The state-run Khorasan newspaper also addressed the crisis of rising drug prices on November 10, writing: “Certain companies, through monopolies on import and distribution, are keeping prices artificially high.”
This is not the first time reports of drug price hikes have surfaced in Iran.
Previously, following the activation of the “Snapback” mechanism and the reinstatement of UN sanctions, drug prices in Iran—from specialized medications to basic cold tablets and syrups—multiplied several times, forcing citizens to visit multiple pharmacies to find what they need.
After the expiration of the 30-day period set under the UN Security Council’s Snapback resolution, all previous sanctions against the Iranian regime were reimposed on September 28, and their effects quickly appeared across Iran’s economy.
On October 4, the regime’s parliamentary Health Commission warned of potential “humanitarian catastrophes” due to delays by the Central Bank in allocating foreign currency for drug imports.
Salman Es’haghi, spokesperson for the regime’s Health and Treatment Commission in Majlis (Parliament), said at the time that the Central Bank’s delay in providing foreign currency for medicine stemmed from its “lack of understanding of the importance of public health,” adding: “The Central Bank assumes this currency is like that allocated for goods such as cell phones, cars, and similar items.”
