The Plataforma Saúde em Diálogo, the Severe Asthma Association, the Patients with Lupus Association, and the Portuguese League Against Rheumatic Diseases have publicly released an open letter addressed to the Minister of Health, the Secretary of State for Health, and members of the Portuguese Parliament, highlighting disparities in access to biological medications.
The organizations demand the expansion of the special co-payment scheme in the private sector, warning of “inequalities affecting thousands of citizens.” This model has been in place since 2024 for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic polyarticular arthritis, plaque psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
The associations claim that patients with severe asthma, lupus, and atopic dermatitis remain dependent solely on the National Health Service (SNS), facing waiting lists far exceeding the guaranteed maximum response times.
“It is unacceptable that patients with severe asthma and lupus, eligible for biological therapy, continue to be discriminated against, seeing their quality of life compromised indefinitely,” emphasize the signatory entities.
Entitled “For a More Inclusive and Universal Health System: Equity in Access to Biological Medications in Portugal,” the open letter also reminds that the latest data reveal that the first consultation in immunoallergology takes 224 days, in pulmonology 215 days, and in rheumatology 193 days. In internal medicine, the wait reaches 401 days at the local health unit of the Estuary of the Tagus.
According to the associations, biological therapies reduce the use of corticosteroid therapy, lower exacerbations and hospitalizations, restoring quality of life to patients and relieving the pressure on the SNS.
However, access remains plagued by “unjust obstacles,” such as divergent criteria between hospitals, “outdated clinical standards,” and “lack of information for patients,” penalizing mainly those living outside major urban centers.
The signatories call for “national uniformity of criteria” and the expansion of co-payment, advocating for justice, speed, and equality in treatment.
“The open letter (…) is a warning and an appeal to policymakers, on behalf of thousands of patients, to eliminate the current situation of inequality and discrimination in access to biological medications, which constitutes an unacceptable segregation between diseases and weakens the pillars of equity and social justice that should sustain our health system, and to honor the commitment to ensure equitable health access for all citizens, without exceptions or discrimination,” they emphasize.
