Latvia has extended state coverage of the pharmacist service fee from 1 September, removing the €0.75 patient payment for all prescription medicines dispensed to people formally classified with Group I disability.
The pharmacist service fee forms part of Latvia’s prescription-medicine pricing model introduced in January 2025. Patients normally contribute €0.75 each time a prescription is first dispensed, with the state financing the remaining service charge paid to the pharmacy.
The September change follows a first extension of state funding from 1 July. The state then took over the patient fee for non-reimbursed and 75%-reimbursed prescription medicines costing no more than €10 per pack, as well as specified medicines for pregnant women and women up to 70 days after childbirth.
People with Group I disability now receive the exemption irrespective of the medicine’s price or reimbursement category. Previously, they paid the €0.75 contribution unless the prescription qualified under another exemption.
The saving for an individual prescription is modest, but the measure removes a recurring element of out-of-pocket medicine expenditure for patients who may require multiple regular treatments. It forms part of Latvia’s wider programme to reduce direct patient spending on prescription medicines.
Source: National Health Service, Latvia
Link: Par farmaceita pakalpojuma maksu (On the pharmacist service fee)
Date: 1 September 2026
Source: Ministry of Health, Latvia
Link: No 1. septembra cilvēkiem ar I grupas invaliditāti valsts segs farmaceita pakalpojuma maksu par visām recepšu zālēm (From 1 September the state will cover the pharmacist service fee for all prescription medicines for people with Group I disability)
Date: 31 August 2026
Source: Cabinet of Ministers, Latvia
Link: Grozījumi Ministru kabineta 2005. gada 25. oktobra noteikumos Nr. 803 "Noteikumi par zāļu cenu veidošanas principiem" (Amendments to Cabinet Regulation No. 803 on the principles of medicine pricing)
Date: 11 June 2026
