The ICA commends the decisions of the Medications Basket Committee and lauds the inclusion of new and important medications in the health basket, including essential drugs for cancer therapy.
Increasing the number of drugs and technologies to be included in this year's public health insurance scheme will enable a larger number of patients to receive potentially life-saving treatment.
However, ICA is disconcerted by the fact that some of the medications have been excluded from the basket, and calls upon the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, as it has many times in the past, to establish an annual automatic update of the health basket by 2%, which will facilitate a long-term solution through state budget allocation, and will alleviate patient's suffering.
Main drugs for cancer patients now included 2013 health basket:
Femara Arimidex Aromasin Afinitor Perjeta for breast cancer Avastin for ovarian cancer, fallopian tube carcinoma and pritoneal cancer Zytiga for prostate cancer Caprelsa for thyroid cancer Votrient for soft tissue sarcomas Erivedge for BCC (basal-cell carcinoma) skin cancer Sprycel, Difolta, Istodax for hematological malignancies
Drug approved for cancer prevention:
Gardasil, a vaccine against HPV (human papilloma virus) to prevent cervical cancer
Likewise, the following drugs were approved:
Expansion of eligibility for dental care for cancer patients receiving head and neck radiation therapy FDG PET/CT Imaging - diffuse myeloma and detection of cancer from an unknown source Eporatio for the treatment of anemia in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy