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Alpha-1 Canada lobbies Ontario government for augmentation therapy reimbursement
Alpha-1 Canada, the advocacy group for Canadian Alphas, met Aug. 30 with representatives of the Ontario government to argue the case for government reimbursement of Alpha-1 augmentation therapy.
Ontario, Canada’s largest province, has not approved any new applications for augmentation therapy reimbursement for more than two years.
Representatives of Alpha-1 Canada met with officials from the Ontario Drug Benefit Program (ODBP).
Present at the meeting were Diane McArthur, the new Executive Officer of the ODBP, and Brent Fraser, Director, Drug Program Services. Alpha-1 Canada was represented by Ken Chapman, MD, Chair of the Alpha-1 Canada Medical Advisory Board; Ben Faienza an Alpha-1 Canada board member who is also Vice President of Canadian Operations at i3 Innovus, a company specializing in health economics and outcomes research; and Executive Director Jim Mundy.
Chapman spoke at length about the positive outcomes of augmentation therapy that he and other researchers have demonstrated.
Ms. McArthur agreed to review any evidence the group could provide before making a final decision on reimbursement for augmentation therapy.
