RFZO: RSD 4.3 billion for the treatment of rare diseases

Compared to 2012, when 130 million dinars were allocated for rare diseases, this year there is a significant increase in the budget, which now amounts to 4.3 billion dinars, said director of the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RFZO), Sanja Radojevic Skodric.

At the Third Regional Conference on Rare Diseases in Novi Sad, organized by the Association for Combating Rare Diseases in Children – Life, Radojevic Skodric pointed out that the state decided in August this year to provide an additional amount of RSD 150 million for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, while an additional amount of RSD 450 million was subsequently approved for the treatment of rare diseases, i.e. a total of RSD 600 million this year, the RFZO said.

Bearing in mind that funds for the treatment of rare diseases are also provided from the funds of the RFZO, a total of RSD 13.2 billion was allocated for the treatment of rare diseases in 2021, said the director of the RFZO.

She recalled that at the expense of the RFZO, compulsory neonatal screening of newborns for certain diseases is carried out, while currently a pilot project for postnatal screening for spinal muscular dystrophy (SMA) is being carried out at the  Gynecological and Obstetrics Clinic „Narodni front“, which will be included in the compulsory screening at the expense of the RFZO from April next year.

Radojevic Skodric pointed out that the use of off-label medicines was one of the main problems that the RFZO faced when it came to the medicines for rare diseases, especially when it came to children.

These are medicines that are not registered for a specific disease, but for completely different indications, while they are very successfully applied in this area in the world.

Radojevic Skodric noted that it was necessary to recognize and regulate the use of off-label medicines by law.

Izvor: N1, Fonet

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