Kavadarci, 14 February 2023 (MIA) — The Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Fund, together with the Clinic of Pulmonology and the Clinic for Respiratory Diseases in Children, are already talking to potential suppliers of prescription medicine used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Meanwhile, laws are being updated to make it possible to buy drugs directly from their manufacturers at a lower price than the current market price, which for this medication is EUR 330,000, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said in response to a reporter’s question Tuesday.

PM Kovachevski said he had met with representatives of the the Cystic Fibrosis Association and they agreed to develop a protocol of procedures regarding the treatment of all cystic fibrosis patients in North Macedonia.

“I trust this will be completed soon,” he said, adding they would be able to get the therapy they need.

Asked if he will demand responsibility from the Health Insurance Fund for not providing life-extending medications to patients with cystic fibrosis, one of whom died waiting for treatment, Kovachevski said everyone was responsible for carrying out the responsibilities of their job.

“Things like this are happening in our country because we have this outrageous bureaucracy and, for the past 31 years, most institutions and individuals have been saying that something ‘cannot be done’ instead of trying to get something done,” he said.

“This is why we had those meetings, which were organized with the goal of solving this problem as soon as possible. The money, as I said, has already been set aside. It has been allocated for the Health Fund, which will then transfer it to the clinics to buy the medications for the patients they see,” Kovachevski said. mr/