Condoms now reimbursed on medical prescription

Condoms will now be reimbursed 60% to help fight against AIDS, said Tuesday the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn. Manufactured by the Majorelle laboratory, these condoms named Eden ® will be available exclusively on medical prescription.

Eden condoms will now be reimbursed on prescription to help fight against AIDS

Health Minister Announces Repayment of Condom

This reimbursement will concern a particular brand, which may be prescribed by doctors, she added.

"There is a medical device called the condom, which has been asked to be evaluated by the High Health Authority, which has issued a favorable opinion for the reimbursement of a brand of condoms at a very low cost"said Ms. Buzyn.

In particular, she hopes that the free prevention consultation, created for adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17, will be an opportunity to discuss the subject of badual health with doctors: "we can now, when we are young or when we present particular risks, or not elsewhere, when we are a woman or when we are a man, go see his doctor and have condoms refunded on medical prescription".

"Today, we discover each year about 6,000 new cases (of HIV positive, ed), (…) especially among young people, around 800 to 1,000 new cases in people under 25, who often use condoms for their first badual intercourse, but not in the following acts"she said.

Eden ®: the condom only available on prescription

This condom is manufactured by laboratories MAJORELLE, who have studied and proposed to the High Authority of Health the placing on the market of a new medical device for prevention of STIs called EDEN®: this male condom will be obtained exclusively on medical prescription and will benefit therefore a refund of the Health Insurance.

Preservative quality premium complies with NF EN ISO 74, EDEN® has a refund rate of 60% on the basis of a selling price amounting to € 1.30 TTC the box of 6 (also available in size XL), 2,60 € TTC the box of 12 and 5,20 € TTC the box of 24.

The initiative aims to "diversify prevention of STIs (badually transmitted infections, NDLR) and HIV" to reach as many people as possible, said the ministry, ahead of World AIDS Day Saturday.

"Anything that promotes access to prevention tools whatsoever can only be good news (…) There must be no financial obstacle, whatever the means chosen", greeted Florence Thune, director general of Sidaction, interviewed by AFP.

"It's a rope more than our bow", also pleased Caroline Izambert, one of the leaders of Aides, pointing out that the reimbursement of condoms is requested by the badociations" since the beginning of the fight against AIDS ".

The number of new HIV infections no longer decreases in France

In recent years, the number of new HIV infections is no longer declining in France, with around 6,000 new cases per year, and some STIs such as gonococcal infections are on the increase.

But by 2030 the government aims to "zero new infections" with HIV and the elimination of STIs "as major public health problems".

Florence Thune, however, expresses concern over "the ease of a young person going to make an appointment with a doctor, often the family doctor, to talk about baduality".

Every year, we discover "around 800 to 1,000 new cases of "HIV infection" among people under 25, who often use condoms for their first badual intercourse, but not in the following acts"said the minister.

"The management and obtaining on prescription of Eden will help to revitalize the image of the condom, sending a strong signal that it is not a badual gadget but a real tool for essential prevention, (and) to develop its use, especially among young people and new users whose purchasing power is very constrained", believes Majorelle.

The badociations hope that other brands will follow suit, to adapt to the preferences and needs of everyone (latex allergy, for example), and argue that the female condom is also affected by the device.

This initiative should not be at the expense of budgets for the free distribution of condoms, also underlines Caroline Izambert.

According to Agnès Buzyn, the Ministry of Health finances the distribution of about 5 million free condoms a year. A total of 120 million condoms were sold in France last year – two-thirds in supermarkets and one-third in pharmacies – according to Majorelle.

Created on November 27, 2018

Sources:

• France Inter
• Majorelle News Release
• AFP / Relaxnews