Menopause has recently begun to receive the recognition that it deserves in this country. The introduction of the free HRT scheme was a significant and welcome step forward. However, the policy has always contained a clear and acknowledged gap for women for whom hormonal treatments are medically contra-indicated. The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics last week published its assessment on Veozah, a non-hormonal treatment for moderate and severe symptoms associated with menopause. This medication is particularly relevant to women for whom HRT is not clinically appropriate, including women who have oestrogen-positive cancers and other medical contradictions. This is a situation I have raised on the floor over a prolonged period.
While last week's NCPE assessment raises concerns about cost-effectiveness, it is notable these concerns are framed around individuals who can take HRT. That wording is critical because it highlights that the medication is being assessed against a comparator that a significant cohort of women simply cannot safely use. That is not an abstract concept. The Minister for Health has repeatedly acknowledged on the Dáil record and in reply to my parliamentary questions that not all women are clinically eligible for HRT, and that women who are contradicted must pursue non-hormonal options with their GP or oncologist, and that there are currently no plans to modify the free HRT scheme to include those alternatives. That leaves women, often cancer survivors, with fewer treatment options, greater financial burden, and unequal access to menopause care.
The NCP process on Veozah should not be viewed as a single, narrow reimbursement decision. It presents an opportunity to address the wider policy issue on how the State supports menopausal women who are excluded from HRT on medical grounds. I ask that the Government ensure that Veozah is, at a minimum, included in the drugs payment scheme, and for a commitment to formally review the free HRT scheme so that women who cannot take hormonal treatments are not structurally excluded from State-funded menopause care. Tá druga ar fáil gur féidir tacú le mná leis an athrú saoil, go háirithe mná atá tar éis ailse a chur díobh. Ní féidir leo an gnáth-HRT a úsáid de bharr na hailse. Mar sin, ba chóir go mbeadh an druga sin, Veozah, á chur ar fáil dóibh.
