Hundreds of thousands of women will potentially be able to access free hormone replacement therapy (HRT) under new plans being advanced by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
HRT is a prescription-based medicine used to relieve symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings, vaginal dryness and reduced sex drive.
There are different types of the HRT, with the medicine coming in tablet form, skin patches, gels and vaginal creams or pessaries. The medication replaces hormones that decline during perimenopause and menopause.
In a statement a spokeswoman for the Minister confirmed that health officials were finalising plans in which Government would fund the cost of HRT medication being available to those who need it.
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“Since he was appointed the Minister has prioritised women’s healthcare. He has allocated significant additional ring-fenced funding to support advances and new services in women’s healthcare,” the spokeswoman said. “He plans to introduce a publicly-funded HRT scheme and details of the plan will be published in the coming weeks.”
Women typically enter menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. In Ireland there is in excess of 500,000 women who are aged between 45 and 64, which is when women can be prescribed HRT, meaning hundreds of thousands of women could be eligible for the scheme.
However, not all women need treatment to relieve symptoms. Research by the department from 2022 found almost one in five women in Ireland suffer severe symptoms from menopause.
The cost of a month’s supply of HRT will vary depending on the type of medication supplied, but typically is between €30 and €70 per month. Up to now HRT has only been provided by the State for those who have a medical card.
In 2022, Mr Donnelly said the HSE estimated the total cost of providing free HRT to all those who require it would be in excess of €10 million per year. However, he said the estimate does not take account of any associated loss of prescription charge income, any relevant future demographic changes or how the introduction of free provision could impact on uptake, meaning the true cost could be much higher.
The freely-available HRT will be funded through money already allocated to the department under the women’s health new development funds.
In 2002, a US study called the Women’s Health Initiative study suggested HRT “caused” breast cancer, resulting in the use of the medication to drop dramatically. However, the findings have since been largely debunked and modern HRT products have a very good safety profile.
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