The Popular Group of Senate has demanded this Tuesday that the Ministry of Health include the financing “urgently” of ‘Enhertu’ and ‘Trodelvy’, two drugs indicated for two types of metastatic cancerwhose application has been rejected up to four times by the Interministerial Commission on Prices of Medicines (CIMP), according to the PP senate, José Manuel Aranda.
According to the senator, these two drugs have “doubled the progression” of the disease and reduced the risk of death. In Spain, according to Aranda, there are 3,000 people who cannot access the treatment. The Popular Party has indicated to the Minister of Health whether the funding of the treatment will finally be approved at the next CIMP meeting.
Although the Minister of Health, Mónica García, has not given a concrete answer to that question, she has assured that “The Ministry is committed to ensuring access for all patients to all innovative medicines”. García also pointed out that the CIMP is not only attended by the Ministry of Health, but also by other ministers and representatives of the autonomous communities and recalled that it has been the Ministry of Health that has repeatedly submitted requests for funding for these two indications. “There is no blockage by the Government to access to medicines”.
Likewise, Garcia has pointed out that “If you want to help patients,” tell the communities where you govern. People’s Party to support “the Ministry in the Pharmaceutical Industry Plan.”
Aranda, for his part, mentioned the names of the patients who died from this type of pathology and pointed out that “6,000 women die in Spain every year from metastatic breast cancer.”
The two drugs mentioned are indicated in the case of ‘Enhertu’ for HER2 Low metastatic breast cancer and ‘Trodelvy’ for HR+ and HER2 cancer.
Corruption
The minister also responded to a question from the Popular Party, in relation to the measures implemented against corruption and on the usefulness of the Observatory against Fraud and Corruption in Health launched by Mónica García.
The Popular Enrique Ruiz Escudero has pointed out the uselessness of this observatory, stating that “Anyone who has knowledge of facts that may constitute a crime must go to court and not wait for an observatory to meet, which has no jurisdictional functions.”.
Ruiz Escudero has made special reference to the management of the masks during the pandemic, pointing out that “it was not the responsibility” of the current minister, since the leader was the current Catalan president, Salvador Illa, but inviting him to “to get rid of the burden of corruption that exists in his Ministry” and that contracts be audited, as José Luis Ábalos recently requested.
Mónica García, for her part, has defended the observatory as an entity that prevents, monitors and collaborates against corruption.
The minister has also pointed out the Law on Public Management of the NHS as a tool to eradicate “the most dubious practices that have done so much damage to public health” and has shown her intention to “put a stop to one of the areas most susceptible to bad practices in health management.”Let’s take private hands off public health” has concluded.
Ceuta and Melilla
The Senate meeting also brought about another meeting between the minister and the PP regarding the measures taken by the Government in relation to the declaration of Ceuta and Melilla as areas with difficult coverage.
Senator Isabel María Moreno Mohamed believes that the Ministry has “abandoned” the two autonomous cities, After the declaration was adopted more than a year ago, “absolutely nothing has been done.”
The minister has assured that things have been done, such as changing the general management and all the teams” to change the management axes. She has also assured that “the salaries of doctors in Ceuta and Melilla are not comparable to those on the peninsula”. “I’m sorry, but they charge more,” Monica Garcia has assured.
