Patients with catastrophic illnesses form a picket
Omar Santana
SANTO DOMINGO. The Dominican NGO Coalition for the Defense of Health demanded yesterday that President Danilo Medina revoke the reduction of the diversity of coverage of medications for catastrophic illnesses, since to the contrary, this decision taken by the Ministry of Public Health threatens patients who suffere these illnesses and those that are in different stages of treatment.
The spokesman for the Coalition, Juan Manuel Perez, declared that there are "patients with hepatitis, kidney disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, whose treatments costs that vary between RD$100,000 and RD$150,000 pesos a month."
Patients such as Victor Polanco complained of the decision by Public Health to reduce the inventory and variety of medications within the Protected Plan for patients with catastrophic illnesses. "I am a kidney patient. About 10 months ago I had a kidney transplant. Today I have not taken a medication for the simple reason that Public Health has left us badly off," he declared to reporters.
Perez revealed in addition, that some "2700 patients have remained outside the plan, while those that are inside the Protected Plan are not receiving adequate treatment, because within the 54 medications eliminated there are no duplicates."
Maria Dolores Solis, who is fighting breast cancer, also complains that the elimination of medications that she buys, and that are now outside of the Program have placed her in a dramatic situation. "If I eat I don't buy it, and if I buy it I don't eat," said the native of San Juan de la Maguana.
The Coalition considers the decision "improvised and hurried since the right thing to do was to first carry out the updating of the Catalog of the Provision of Services of Social Security."
They also complained that the great problem is "that they commit to medications that we receive through the Protected Program of the Ministry of Public Health and lies in the fact that the Dominican State has taken on in an obliging manner, the responsibilities that belong to the National Council of Social Security."
The spokesman for the Coalition, Juan Manuel Perez, declared that there are "patients with hepatitis, kidney disease, cancer, fibromyalgia, whose treatments costs that vary between RD$100,000 and RD$150,000 pesos a month."
Patients such as Victor Polanco complained of the decision by Public Health to reduce the inventory and variety of medications within the Protected Plan for patients with catastrophic illnesses. "I am a kidney patient. About 10 months ago I had a kidney transplant. Today I have not taken a medication for the simple reason that Public Health has left us badly off," he declared to reporters.
Perez revealed in addition, that some "2700 patients have remained outside the plan, while those that are inside the Protected Plan are not receiving adequate treatment, because within the 54 medications eliminated there are no duplicates."
Maria Dolores Solis, who is fighting breast cancer, also complains that the elimination of medications that she buys, and that are now outside of the Program have placed her in a dramatic situation. "If I eat I don't buy it, and if I buy it I don't eat," said the native of San Juan de la Maguana.
The Coalition considers the decision "improvised and hurried since the right thing to do was to first carry out the updating of the Catalog of the Provision of Services of Social Security."
They also complained that the great problem is "that they commit to medications that we receive through the Protected Program of the Ministry of Public Health and lies in the fact that the Dominican State has taken on in an obliging manner, the responsibilities that belong to the National Council of Social Security."
Omar Santana
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