Women living with endometriosis will now have access to a new treatment on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the first time in three decades.
The treatment– Dienogest (Visanne)– is a daily tablet that works to shrink and suppress the growth of abnormal tissue.
On Sunday, Health Minister Mark Butler made the announcement, saying: “Women are suffering unnecessarily”.
“They’re having their experiences dismissed, being called hysterical and accused of drug shopping. Women’s pain is real and it’s time we stop telling women to just suck it up.”
“Our Government’s listing of Visanne on the PBS will be a game changer for women living with endo,” said Butler.
“Making this medicine cheaper for women is going to be transformative.”
Roughly one in seven Australian women suffer from endometriosis, which can cause crippling pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, fatigue and may be associated with infertility. There is no cure, and the disease can last for decades.
Endometriosis results in more than 40,000 hospital admissions each year, and leaves hundreds of thousands of women regularly in pain. And without subsidy, patients might pay around $750 per year for treatment.
Gyneacologist and endometriosis expert Dr Neisha Wratten was among the first gynaecologists in the country to prescribe Visanne, after having heard about it overseas.
“It’s been a two-edged experience for me. It has been a relief and a satisfaction to be able to offer to women a well-tolerated and highly efficacious treatment that relieves their pain, returns them to an excellent quality of life, and reduces the need for repeated surgeries,” said Dr Wratten in a government press conference.
“But it’s also been distressing to see many women have to decline the treatment that they deserve, because of cost,” she said, adding that this is especially the case post-Covid, amid the cost-of-living crisis.
“I would like very much to congratulate Minister Butler and his government on this landmark decision. It is going to impact, I estimate, between 400,000 and 500,000 Australian women in a positive manner. Not only them, but also those who support and care for them.”
The announcement of Visanne being placed on the PBS is part of a more than $107 million investment from the federal government to support Australians with endometriosis. The national suite of initiatives includes integrated endometriosis care, intervention and treatment.
Twenty-two specialised Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics were opened around Australia, where access to early intervention and a range of treatment options are available. The government also introduced a new extended 60 minute MBS item for GPs, with the longer consult giving a better opportunity for GPs to treat endometriosis.
“We’ve also funded updates to the endometriosis management guidelines so that there’s better awareness in the community, and importantly, better awareness about best practice among health professionals, including GPs,” Butler said in a press conference.
“We’re reviewing MBS and PBS items and doing a range of other things as well, to chart a path for much better care and support for women with endometriosis.”
Since July 2022, the Australian Government has approved extra funding for 277 new and amended listings, recommended by the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, on the PBS.