Long-acting insulin analogues were not included in the list of reimbursed drugs; they will be free of charge thanks to their inclusion in the therapeutic program, the project of which is to be ready by the end of the year, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday.
MZ spokesman Piotr Olechno told PAP that the list of reimbursed drugs has already been signed. It is to enter into force on December 30.
The Ministry of Health informs that the therapeutic program, prepared by the National Diabetes Consultant, is to enter into force in the first quarter of 2011. Patients are to be qualified for the program by diabetologists.
The list of reimbursed drugs was initially to enter into force on December 16. However, the Ministry of Health decided to postpone this date to December 30 in connection with the debates of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) on December 13-16, which were supposed to concern, inter alia, on the list of insulin analogues and whether they are safe. The ministry said on Monday that the EMEA has yet to make any decisions on the matter; awaits the results of detailed studies of insulin analogues.
Concerned about the change of the date was, inter alia, The Polish Diabetes Society, which wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk on this matter at the end of December.
The delay in the entry into force of the reimbursement list was to be one of the reasons for the dismissal of Deputy Minister of Health, Marek Twardowski. Twardowski announced at the end of October that long-acting insulin analogues will be on the list of reimbursed drugs. He explained that the funds for refunds come from savings that resulted from favorable negotiations with pharmaceutical companies.
After injection, insulin analogues are absorbed into the blood after 20-40 minutes, and after 3-5 hours they stop working. Thanks to this, the patient can take them immediately before, during or after eating. Diabetics emphasize that it makes their lives easier, as they can take medications immediately after eating.
Diabetes mellitus is an incurable, chronic disease caused by disorders of sugar-glucose metabolism. It comes in several basic types, but is always manifested by elevated blood glucose levels – very dangerous for the kidneys, the circulatory system and the eye’s retina. In Poland, over 2 million people suffer from diabetes, of which 90 percent. type II diabetes mellitus, which develops in adulthood. (PAP)