Board under fire

“It’s a matter of survival”: patient fears for medication

Patient Robert Arthofer and Angelika Widhalm(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

The "healing powers" of the black-green healthcare reform are being questioned by several experts. Criticism of the medication board in particular refuses to die down. Patients throughout the country fear that they will have to wait longer than necessary for new medicines. The "Krone" spoke to one of them, experts and the Ministry.

In 2002, Robert Arthofer was diagnosed with severe multiple sclerosis. He was immediately given strong medication. However, these have so far only alleviated his suffering to a limited extent. He is currently waiting for the approval of new, effective and expensive medication, the effects of which are promising, but are still "in trial" at the moment.

Arthofer, who also runs a self-help group for MS patients, fears that he will have to wait longer than necessary for the new drugs. This is because access to high-priced drugs, which are vital for many patients, is to be reorganized.

A separate committee, known as an evaluation board, is to be appointed in the first half of 2024, begin its work and in future review new pharmaceuticals before they are sold or passed on and make appropriate recommendations. These reviews will affect expensive cancer therapies and drugs used to treat rare diseases, for example. Arthofer's medication could also be affected. For him, every minute counts. "It's a matter of survival," he told the Krone newspaper.