Pediatricians do not understand and are “worried”: Beyfortus, a preventive treatment which serves to limit the risk of bronchiolitis in babies, is only reimbursed at 30% this year, compared to 100% last year. first year of product use.
This decision comes from the High Authority for Health (HAS) which assessed the “moderate medical benefit”. However, “the effectiveness of Beyfortus has been demonstrated”, assures Christèle Gras-Le Guen, pediatrician and epidemiology researcher, president of the French Society of Pediatrics to France Inter.
An efficiency of around 80%
“Last year’s experience was spectacular: with an effectiveness of around 80% – which is rare for a vaccine in this type of medicine,” she adds. This medication has thus prevented hospitalizations in intensive care, intensive care, visits to the emergency room and “even private consultations”, assures the woman who is also head of pediatric emergencies and the general pediatrics department at the Nantes University Hospital.
“It therefore seems out of place today to judge the medical benefit rendered so low and to limit the reimbursement of this product,” says the pediatrician. She also points out that this medication has been “validated” by families with an acceptance rate of 97%.
A barrier for the most modest families
The end of 100% reimbursement could prevent low-income families from having their children treated, according to the spokesperson for the French Pediatric Society. She then demands that “the State establishes reimbursement at 100%, so that families who do not have mutual insurance”.
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She emphasizes that “the remaining amount to pay is around 300 euros”, which is “not nothing” because several mutual insurance companies reimburse little or nothing. “Children from the poorest families must not be left on the sidelines, even though we have one of the most effective medications against the disease,” says the professional.
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