Denmark offers funds to Norway meiner is expensive:
– When there is a medicine that can help, I think it is a declaration of bankruptcy for the Norwegian health service that he is not in use, says Sylvi Listhaug, party leader in Frp.
She reacts strongly to the fact that the Norwegian health service has used the new drug Kaftrio, which has been shown to have a very good effect on patients in other countries who have the serious disease cystic fibrosis.
Pays SEK 308,000 a month for medicine
Just under 400 people in Norway suffer from the congenital disease.
Christian Lawley is one of them. He has decreased lung capacity and the lungs full of mucus. No one pays him more than 308,000 kroner a month for help that helps him breathe.
The Norwegian health service will not cover funds, because he is too expensive.
– It is indirectly a death sentence for many patients, and a clear relocation statement from me, says Christian.
He is considering moving to Denmark to get the help he needs to live.
– It’s grotesque
About 20 countries have adopted the new Kaftrio effect, with good effect. The majority of patients quickly improve lung capacity, they get fewer infections, less cough and generally better quality of life.
In Denmark, ours has been in use for over a year, and Danish patients rejoice that they are finally allowed to breathe.
Norway and Sweden are the only countries in the Nordic region that have not taken anything into use due to the price.
– I think I’m grotesque. It is heartbreaking to see that countries close to us do not receive help that we see that our members have such a great effect on, says Helle Ousted, director of the Danish Association for Cystic Fibrosis.
She has followed Christian’s case, and thinks it’s a shame that Norwegian patients are considering moving to Denmark to get help.
– Eg. thinks it is healthy obligated that he must consider moving to another country to get a medicine that is so effective. Yes, trur is expensive, but I do not think it will be more expensive in the long run. It also costs money when the patient is hospitalized and it costs money when they can not be at work.
Asks the health authorities to take action
Sylvi Listhaug has become involved in the case of Christian, and thinks it is sad that he had to move out of the country to get the help he needs for something as basic as breathing.
– It makes a big impression that people in Norway do not get the help they need, when there is a medicine that works. It is not worthy of the Norwegian welfare society, she says.
Christian (39) pays 308,000 kroner a month on medication to breathe:
Ho meiner the health authorities must intervene and ensure that CF patients receive help.
– I think it is unethical that we should not spend money on people to breathe. Now it’s time for something to happen. There are about 400 people in Norway with cystic fibrosis. It will not cost the large sums to ensure that they receive medicine.
But the health authorities are waiting for a better price
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care Services, Karl Kristian Bekeng (Labor Party), sends the question back to Listhaug:
– If you think one should go in and increase the willingness to pay in a field, which patient groups do you want to prioritize down?
He points out that the Storting has laid down clear criteria for what to assess when using new medicines, easy severity, usefulness and resource use.
– The challenge is that one must assess the price of a drug against all other drugs. If one goes in and extra willingness to pay for a patient group, one assesses this group against other patient groups.
But that answer will be too simple, says Listhaug.
– Norway is a rich country. I can afford to spend more money on medicine. It’s about prioritizing.