MPP Arnott continues to support CF patients – Speech
July 16, 2014 — Kalydeco
Ontario Hansard – 16-July2014
Mr. Ted Arnott: On June 20, we were all pleased to hear confirmation that the Ministry of Health finally appears to be covering the cost of Kalydeco, a new medication which appears to be a miracle treatment for some cystic fibrosis patients.
As members may recall, I’ve been advocating for funding for Kalydeco for CF patients since December 2012, when this issue was first brought to my attention by my constituents Nigel and Shelley Phipps from Georgetown. Their daughter Maddie has cystic fibrosis, and her health has improved dramatically since she started taking Kalydeco. I know that this news is a huge relief for the Phipps family as well as many other families across Ontario, like the Bain family from Georgetown and the Shaw family from Fergus, who also have children who have received treatment with Kalydeco.
I also want to acknowledge our leader, the member for Simcoe–Grey, and our health critic, the member for Whitby–Oshawa. They, too, worked hard to raise awareness and urged the government to do the right thing.
On Sunday night, I had the chance to speak to our former colleague from Halton, Ted Chudleigh, who was also very supportive of funding for Kalydeco. He pointed out that while Kalydeco is now covered by OHIP, there may be families who have spent many thousands of dollars out of their own pockets over the past few months for Kalydeco. While some patients may have been covered by private insurance or supported by community fundraisers, I would encourage the Minister of Health to instruct his staff to look into this on a compassionate case-by-case basis and compensate the families who may have had no alternative but to pay for Kalydeco out of their own pockets.