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A QUIN woman has secured access to vital cancer treatment, after she and her husband went public about their health insurer’s initial refusal to cover the cost. Maria Meade had surgery, earlier this year, for an aggressive form of cancer and was recommended to start a course of the break-through drug Pembrolizamub. While her insurer, Laya, refused to cover the €150,000 cost of the immunotherapy treatment, citing guidance from the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP), the National Centre for Pharmaeconomics (NCPE), the company has now agreed to fund the drug on a three-month trial basis. Maria will start treatment next week. “Laya have agreed to cover the cost for three months,” Tom Meade explained. “There will then be a review and a report from Maria’s consultant oncologist, but we would be hopeful that there will be cover for ongoing treatment.” Earlier this month, the couple contacted politicians and the media over fears of the impact that missing out on the …
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