By Wendy Anders

A proposal to levy a temporary 2 percent tax on non-alcoholic beverages has been introduced by Christian Socialist Legislator Rafael Ortiz Fábrega. The funds from the tax would finance the purchase of expensive drugs by the Costa Rican Social Security’s (CCSS) public health-care system.

The proposed initiative would be expected to raise about $18 million per year reported ElMundo.cr, a Costa Rican digital Spanish-language news site. The tax would mainly apply to soft drinks, and sugar-added concentrated beverages, and would not apply to liquid milk, bottled water, and some other drinks that would be exempt.

Ortiz explained that “the country’s policy since 1982 is to provide essential medicines to address the major causes of morbidity and mortality affecting our population, in order to guarantee universal access to medicines.”

Because of the escalating costs of medicines on the market today with wider options for a greater variety of illnesses, Ortiz said new funding streams were needed to ensure continued public access to a broad spectrum of treatments, continued ElMundo.Cr.

The proposal would provide a tax increase for a 5-year period, after which it is hoped that the CCSS would secure other sources of financing, and/or negotiate better prices for high-cost medications.

“Access to high financial impact drugs can save lives; at the same time, in some cases these drugs can cause dramatically high costs, and that can pose a challenge to the sustainability of public health systems,” concluded Ortiz.