NHF adds new diabetes and glaucoma subsidies, thousands to benefit
Published:Thursday | August 15, 2019 | 9:33 AM
Thousands of Jamaicans with diabetes and glaucoma who are enrolled in the National Health Fund (NHF) are to benefit from the expansion in drug offerings.
The NHF says five new Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients have been made available for the treatment of diabetes and glaucoma.
The new ingredients introduced for the treatment of diabetes are Dapagliflozin, Canagliflozin, Empagliflozin and Dapagliflozin/Metformin, while Brinzolamide/Brimonidine is geared toward the treatment of glaucoma.
Dapagliflozin, which is available in the form of Forxiga tablets, can be accessed with an NHF subsidy of $58.75 per 5mg 30pk and $117.50 per 10mg 30 pk.
Canagliflozin, available in the form of Invokana 100mg and 300mg tablets, are subsidised at $61 and $183 respectively.
Jardiance tablets contain the API Empagliflozin and are available in 10mg and 25mg formulations with an NHF Subsidy of $59.55 and $148.88 respectively, while Dapagliflozin/Metformin appears under the Xigduo XR label with a subsidy of $60.54 for 5mg tablets and $124.06 for 10mg tablets.
Available now under the NHFCard for the treatment of Glaucoma is Simbrinza Eye Drops containing the API Brinzolamide and Brimonidine enjoying a subsidy of $1,989.63
The NHF says there are 177, 259 persons with diabetes and 64,876 with Glaucoma among its beneficiaries.
The agency says it decided to introduce the new drugs so as to further expand the availability of treatment options as well as the additional health benefits to be derived from the new formulations.
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