Germany raises fixed pharmacy fee on prescription drugs to €9 per pack

On 1 July 2026, the German federal government raised the fixed fee (Apothekenfixum) that pharmacies receive for each pack of prescription medicine from €8.35 to €9. The figure had been unchanged since 2013, so the increase was the first in well over a decade.

The change was made through an amendment to the national drug pricing ordinance (Arzneimittelpreisverordnung), which sets what pharmacies may charge. It was introduced in two steps: a further rise to €9.50 is scheduled for January 2027. That level matches the figure promised in the governing coalition's agreement, but the staggered approach was debated, partly because of the strained finances of the statutory health insurers who ultimately pay the fee.

Pharmacy representatives had long argued that rising rent, wages and energy costs, combined with a fee frozen for years, were pushing many small pharmacies into losses and closure. The increase was meant to ease that pressure and slow the steady decline in the number of pharmacies, though critics said the staged rise came too slowly to stabilise the sector quickly.