Sydney mother Maria Kaloudis strengthened her commitment to lobbying the federal government to add eczema treatment to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), The Leader reports.
Among the group of people who voiced their concerns to the government in Canberra, Maria Kaloudis had previously wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison asking him to step in to add Dupixent to the PBS.
Maria’s close family have reportedly suffered from severe eczema all their lives, being part of the staggering 800,000 Australians with eczema, 27,000 of those being severe.
Dupixent is available to some eczema patients, yet are forced to pay $1600 a month, or $20,000 a year, for the “life-changing” treatment. Patients say that the drug, which is injected into patients, provides relief by ending the itch and pain associated with the condition.
A government advisory committee is due to review the cost-effectiveness of the medication for the third time in March, prompting those affected by the condition to travel to Canberra on February 27 to make a presentation to parliamentarians.
“I’m sending an SOS to the federal government because eczema is agony,” Ms Kaloudis said speaking with The Leader.
“It means sleepless nights, discomfort and pain, feeling like you have bugs crawling under your skin.
“There’s medicine available that can end this misery and we are appealing to the federal government to subsidise it in Australia.
“We need to ensure that the federal government fully understand the distress, pain [and] sleep disruption, and do not overlook it amid all the other budget priorities.”
The Canberra visit was organised by Eczema Support Australia. Its founder and director Melanie Funk, the mother of twin boys with severe eczema, said no one should have to endure the agony of uncontrolled eczema.
For information about Eczema Support Australia click here or to visit their Facebook page click here.
Sourced by: The Leader
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