Migraine Australia has launched a campaign calling for the nation’s leaders to “give migraine a break.”
The call came after the news that Aimovig, one of the new migraine medications called CGRPs, has finally received the necessary approvals for the Government to add the breakthrough medication to the PBS, after five years of campaigning. Currently patients are paying $695 a month for the medication, with the organisation warning that it may take a year or more for the next step in the process to be completed before the medication can be subsidised.
“When Emgality and Ajovy were recommended by the PBAC it took over a year for the Department of Health to negotiate a supply contract and the Minister to list these amazing medications on the PBS,” a spokesperson for Migraine Australia said.
Once the final step of the government negotiating price and finalising the listing is done, those with chronic migraine will be able to access this life changing medication for $31.60 or the concession price of $7.70. Aimovig works differently to the other new medications already listed, and works for different people.
The new medications, which are available now either privately from your GP or for a limited cohort of patients on the PBS with approval from a neurologist, are not pain medications. They are designed for, and will only work for, migraine. Patients and doctors are both urged to thoroughly confirm the diagnosis before beginning treatment.
With the federal election looming and all the uncertainty that comes with that, Migraine Australia is calling for Mark Butler to list Aimovig on the PBS quickly, and has launched a campaign calling for a more fundamental shift in how migraine is treated, arguing migraine is the most underfunded, underdiagnosed and undertreated condition in the country.
“We are asking our leaders – and the nation – to give migraine a break,” they said. “Sick people simply shouldn’t have to fight this hard.
“We’re not asking for anything special, just to have the same access to care and support as other conditions. And we’re sick of being denied our fair share of the health care budget because there’s too many of us.”
Some five million Australians live with migraine, most of them women, costing the economy around $36 billion a year.
Migraine was redefined as a genetic sensory processing disorder in 2017. The scientific breakthrough that busted the ‘vascular headache’ myth has led to an extraordinary revolution in migraine care, including the advent of the first ever medications developed for migraine, and many migraine patients starting to get adequate care for the first time.
Migraine Australia says the migraine revolution has the potential to put half a million Australians – mostly young women – back into the workforce, and reduce absenteeism and presenteeism for millions more.
“That’s a huge potential boost to the economy, but to see the opportunity realised, we need migraine to be given a break. We need access to the new medication, as well as appropriate support and awareness activities for patients, doctors, and employers to all get on the same page.”
Migraine Australia will be asking supporters to pledge to vote for migraine – making migraine the number one thing they consider who to vote for in the upcoming federal election, and asking both those currently in government and candidates to declare what they will do to ‘give migraine a break’.
More information about the Give Migraine a Break campaign can be found on the website givemigraineabreak.migraine.org.au
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