“This involves vital prognoses, loss of opportunity for patients”, warns France Assos Santé signatory of the appeal of the 14 associations

France Assos Santé and thirteen other associations denounce an “inadequacy of medicines policies to public health needs”.

“What is wrong is that in a lot of serious illnesses, essential treatments which are very old and no longer under patent are missing. This sometimes involves vital prognoses, loss of opportunity for patients, or more after-effects because there will be more surgery for bladder cancer, for example”, alert Monday May 13 on franceinfo Catherine Simonin, administrator of France Assos Santé, signatory of the call from 14 associations on “difficulties in accessing health products for patients”. These associations denounce a “inadequacy of medicines policies to public health needs”.

For France Assos Santé, “Patients are in difficulty but also prescribing doctors because they do not necessarily have up-to-date information in good time before prescribing the medication. Sometimes they would like to be informed to inform the patient. There is a lack information from patients when there is a shortage”, she denounces.

“The side effects are not the same”

“The prescriber must explain to patients that he will not be able to prescribe the indicated medication and that he is obliged to prescribe another because the side effects are not the same,” adds Catherine Simonin. “Companies are financialized, they must be profitable, access is compromised by the prohibitive prices that are offered”, regrets France Assos Santé. These associations then demand price control and “if there is more Europe, we will be able to negotiate these very expensive molecules, as in gene therapy” where sometimes “there is a sorting of patients”.

The upcoming European elections are very important for Catherine Simonin: “If we vote for people who are against Europe, access to medicines will soon no longer exist in France because Europe is the link that can act as a barrier between the United States, China, India will have to ensure that health is not neglected.” because “all over the world, everyone wants to be treated, so we need to increase production, and relocation will help with that.”