Spain's Constitutional Court has stopped the Madrid region adding a flat fee on prescription medicines while it discusses the constitutionality of such a charge, which authorities say is desperately needed to be able to cut its debt.

The regional health authority had argued that the prescription plan, which went into effect on Jan. 1, would earn the government €80 million ($108 million) as part of €2.7 billion of budget savings it will make this year.

Madrid said the flat one-euro fee per prescription would discourage people from purchasing medicines they didn't need, estimating that more than a quarter of the largely subsidised medicines go unused.

The government called it a stealth tax, however, and said it was unfair because it was not applied universally across Spain.

The Constitutional Court earlier this month stopped Catalonia from applying a similar charge pending a final ruling, which should be due in both cases in the next five months.

The central government, which asked all of its 17 autonomous regions to reduce their deficit by 1.5% last year, has asked for a 0.7% reduction in 2013.

In addition to their budget woes, the regions owe billions of euros to pharmaceutical companies and other service providers. Several regions have received lifelines from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government to pay their bills.

Ignacio Gonzalez, president of the Madrid region which encompasses the wealthy capital and surrounding areas, warned that forgoing the fee would have serious financial consequences.

"We're going to have to negotiate from here for the rest of the year to balance the budget," Gonzalez said.

The Official Madrid College of Pharmacists praised the court's decision, saying the charge "impeded patients with little purchasing power from sticking to and completing treatments".

Spain's economy is officially in recession and the government has implemented deep austerity cuts at a time when one in four of Spain's workforce is jobless.

Since health and education make up the lion's share of the regions' spending they have been first in line for budget cuts.

The Madrid region plans to privatize six hospitals and some public health clinics, which has sparked protests in a country where citizens treasure their high-quality free healthcare.

Doctors in Madrid went on an indefinite strike that was called off after five weeks, though large demonstrations of medical professionals wearing white coats are a common sight on the streets of the capital at the weekends.

The economy is not expected to register growth until 2014.