Patients with diabetes, especially type 2, once again did not receive any positive decisions from the Ministry of Health regarding reimbursement – says Anna Śliwińska, president of the board of the Polish Diabetes Association.
Diabetics have long been waiting for the reimbursement of modern therapies. However, the September list of reimbursed drugs did not bring the expected changes?
AS: People with diabetes, especially type 2, have been looking forward to reimbursement of treatment, which should be the standard in our country, for many years. It is called “modern”, but in fact in other European Union countries (and not only in the richest ones) it no longer has the aura of innovation, because it is widely used. Diabetes mellitus is uneven, people do not get sick in the same way and that is why it is so important to have access to a wide range of therapies, enabling individualized treatment. Nowadays, we have therapies that meet the needs of patients very well, but they are not affordable for the average Polish diabetic because they are not reimbursed.
Is the cost of these therapies too high as the reason for the lack of reimbursement?
AS: This is what the Ministry says, but we often remind decision-makers that the primary cost for you is the treatment of diabetes complications, not the diabetes itself. Insufficiently well-managed diabetes is associated with the occurrence of very serious complications in the future, such as heart attacks, strokes, blindness, amputations of the lower limbs, dialysis. These are enormous human tragedies, but also a fundamental burden on the budget. Every zloty invested today in more effective, more effective treatment is tens, or actually hundreds of zlotys, saved tomorrow. And a healthier, more productive society.
In the case of type 2 diabetes, there is a view that patients should follow a diet and exercise, and then they would not get sick, nor do they need advanced therapies. What do you say?
AS: This view is true only to a small extent. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (of various types) is largely genetically determined. There are people who, despite a lot of care for a healthy lifestyle, will still get sick with type 2 diabetes, they can only postpone it in time. If disease were only due to weight gain as a result of poor diet and physical inactivity, all overweight or obese people would automatically have diabetes. And we know that it is not so. The disease, if it has already occurred, will not go away and it is important to take care of patients. People who are getting younger and in working age are sick. Type 2 diabetes is no longer “senile diabetes” as it was formerly called. Moreover, even if someone claims that the patient has fallen ill “at his own request” and therefore does not deserve modern treatment, let him or her say whether smokers suffering from cancer, people suffering from alcohol-related injuries, victims of traffic accidents that are not treated in Poland are not treated. buckled seat belts, etc. Why do diabetics stand out so much in the minus?
You are sure to pass these arguments on to the Ministry. Do you feel that the Ministry of Health does not listen to the voice of the diabetic community?
AS: Together with the Polish Diabetes Association and other organizations operating in the field of diabetes, we are trying to convince the Ministry of Health that it is worth investing in modern, effective and personalized diabetes treatment. We speak with one voice, the arguments presented above are our common ones. Yes, the Ministry accepts us for interviews, I even personally go to such an interview today (August 28.08), but we would like it to finally agree to our postulates and understand that it is really high time for Poland to stop being something diabetological open-air museum of Europe.