The ANS tax list threatens treatments for cancer (and other diseases)

Treat the patient cancer at the right time, with the right procedure. This premise is crucial in stopping or ending the progression of the disease once and for all. In other words, we must provide each person diagnosed with cancer with scientifically proven tests, therapies and / or procedures that are most effective in their case, without depriving them of a better quality of life and the possibility of a cure. Unfortunately this premise is under threat!

Last Wednesday (06/08), the STJ, the national court responsible for standardizing the interpretation of federal law, filed two appeals. List of Health Procedures and Facts from the National Supplemental Health Agency (ANS). On the one hand, the supporters tax coverage, in which the plans are exempt from covering what is not expressly stated in the ANS list. On the other hand, we who are on the side exemplary interpretationwho argues that Role is the minimum that should be offered to the patient, but that other procedures, as indicated, should also be covered.

The victory of a formidable role, six votes to three, is a failure for the health of the country. It jeopardizes the patient’s access to important advances in science, and it is impossible to fully enjoy personalized medicine. That is, scientifically established and multidisciplinary teams have full access to medical and multidisciplinary surgical techniques, radiotherapy, or systemic treatment (chemotherapy, target therapy, immunotherapy, etc.).

Aware of this importance, the Brazilian Association of Oncological Surgery (SBCO) joined seven other companies in the field of oncological care, in an open letter, for an unlimited role, preserving the right of those affected by cancer.

To measure the impact of the decision on pre-voting understanding, the exclusion of any procedure recommended by a physician could characterize the conduct of health plan operators, even if it is not provided for in the insurance contract and ANS. list. What prevailed was to ensure that the patient received all the care necessary for his recovery.

This interpretation left the door open for dialogue, both inside and outside of justice. But now that door, at best, has become a mere crack.

The tax list is a major hurdle for patients, even if they have scientific evidence and medical reports on hand, to gain access to the procedures required in court. One effect, by the way, is not limited to cancer, but to all diseases that require high-cost treatments that are not included in the ANS’s always outdated list.

+ Also read: After all, what is the cure for cancer?

To justify Rol’s exemplary interpretation as a way to “care for the financial health of the system” is to favor the strongest in that relationship, not those who are subject to a deterioration in health. May the doors of Justice be kept open for all those who threaten to reduce their fundamental rights.

* Héber Salvador is the President of Oncology Surgery and President of the Brazilian Association of Oncology Surgery (SBCO).