Spiraling health costs force Iranians to delay care

A 70-year-old woman with advanced breast cancer was scheduled to receive chemotherapy every two weeks, each session costing around 100 million Iranian tomans. This amounts to roughly six times the monthly minimum wage for Iranian workers. The woman's children asked her doctor to delay her next treatment while they sought financial assistance.

This situation is not unique to this individual. Across Iran, soaring prices, persistent shortages, disruptions in foreign currency transfers, and growing strain on the healthcare system are making it increasingly difficult for patients to access necessary treatment.

Iranian pharmaceutical companies have recently announced price hikes for 82 products, with average prices rising by 120%. For instance, the cost of donepezil increased by 543%, clarithromycin by 308%, and amoxicillin by 115%. Insulin users are particularly hard hit, with the price of a monthly prescription of four NovoRapid insulin pens jumping from 280,000 tomans to around 1.1 million tomans.

Such steep price increases mean that some patients are forced to postpone or abandon their treatment altogether. Cancer patients are especially vulnerable as treatment schedules are often tightly structured, and delays can reduce the effectiveness of therapy and negatively impact outcomes.

Some patients have reportedly turned to obtaining cancer medicines abroad, while others are postponing or forgoing treatment due to the high costs. However, importing drugs can pose additional risks as some may be counterfeit or expired. Iran's health challenges predate the current war, with a weakening currency, rising production costs, delayed payments from insurers, and US sanctions all contributing to the problem.

The disruption of supply chains and difficulties in transferring foreign currency have further exacerbated the situation. While medicine shortages are not exclusive to Iran, the country's struggles are compounded by a combination of currency depreciation, rising production costs, sanctions-related obstacles, and the economic consequences of war, all of which are affecting a healthcare system that was already fragile.