“Incomprehensible and inadmissible.” Beyfortus, a treatment intended to immunize babies against the main virus that causes bronchiolitis, is not sufficiently reimbursed, pushing many parents to abandon it, the main French pediatrician organizations lamented on Wednesday.
“This decision to limit reimbursement seems incomprehensible and unacceptable,” several organizations, including the French Pediatric Society (SFP) and the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (AFPA), said in a joint press release.
Beyfortus is part of a series of innovative treatments that aim to prevent or limit respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, the main cause of bronchiolitis. This especially affects children, in whom it causes an annual epidemic.
The epidemic already began this year in mainland France and is currently affecting the Paris region and Upper France, according to a weekly report published Wednesday by the public health agency, although its magnitude remains moderate compared to previous years.
Lower refund
Beyfortus (from the AstraZeneca and Sanofi laboratories) had already been offered to many babies last year. At that time, the costs were borne by the State, which had purchased the doses directly from the laboratories.
But this year, the treatment moves to a more traditional reimbursement, through Health Insurance. And this only reimburses you up to 30%, the rest being the responsibility of the mutual insurance companies.
However, “many families, unable to pay their corresponding co-payment, about 300 euros, (report) that several mutual insurance companies do not reimburse or partially reimburse,” the pediatricians emphasize.
In comparison, many children’s vaccines are reimbursed at 65% and the measles vaccine is fully reimbursed. Beyfortus’s lower reimbursement is due to an evaluation by the High Health Authority (HAS) that classified its medical benefit as “moderate.”
Drop in hospitalizations
The HAS, which updated its opinion on Wednesday, took into account the data recorded last season, which shows a clear drop in hospitalizations thanks to Beyfortus. But it also points out the lack of conclusive data on the most serious consequences that hospitals must face, particularly transitions to intensive care.
Furthermore, despite pediatricians’ concerns, Sanofi estimated in late October that one in two eligible babies had already received Beyfortus. Additionally, another preventive treatment is available, Pfizer’s Abrysvo, which is administered directly to the pregnant woman and is fully reimbursed as part of pregnancy management.
Source: BFM TV
