In today’s medical world, access to life-saving treatments can sometimes be overshadowed by apparent administrative barriers. A clear example is the restrictive limitations imposed on the compensation of an essential medicine for serious diseases such as oncological diseases. Even if a specialist prescribes this medicine for the benefit of the patient, it may be excluded from the list of compensated medicines for limited therapeutic indications. This raises the crucial question: how justified is this practice in the light of patients’ real needs?
A recent judgment of the High Court of Cassation and Justice has brought this issue of the medical system back into focus, underlining that the abusive limitation of the compensation of vital medicines for patients, even when they are prescribed by medical specialists for valid therapeutic indications, can be considered an abusive action by the authorities, failing to respect the positive obligations of the authorities regarding the right to life of each person.
Failure by the authorities to ensure free access to the treatment prescribed by the attending physician for the patient’s therapeutic indication and the patient’s inability to continue treatment from his own resources could lead to an irreparable worsening of his health condition.
The Court therefore emphasised that restricting access to the necessary treatment constitutes a violation of the patients’ fundamental rights, such as the right to life and to adequate medical care.
This judgment comes in the context of the need for the health system to ensure access to essential treatments for all patients, regardless of the specific indications for which they are approved in the list of compensated medicines.
