These medicines for adults will not be reimbursed. The Ministry of Health explains this as “overdiagnosis”

In recent years Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is increasingly being talked about. More and more people are being diagnosed with this disorder. Although ADHD medications are reimbursed for children and adolescents, the situation is completely different for adults. The Ministry of Health does not intend to change this. This, in turn, raises a lot of controversy, among other things, due to the fact that such drugs are often quite expensive for the patient (and the disease does not go away with age).

Reimbursement of ADHD medications only for children

The drugs most commonly used to treat ADHD are those containing methylphenidate and atomoxetine. However, medicinal products containing these substances are reimbursed only for people under 18 years of age – from September 2023, they are on the list of free medicines for children and adolescents. However, when the patient becomes an adult, he or she loses the right to reimbursement of these drugs and must purchase them at full cost, which is often a heavy financial burden for such people.

Due to the growing number of people with ADHD, including adults, this condition is highly controversial. Currently, regardless of whether someone was diagnosed in childhood or later, after their eighteenth birthday they must buy drugs for this disorder without any reimbursement. ADHD was once considered a disease that mainly affected children, but over the years the view has changed significantly. This disorder does not improve over the years, and now the so-called late diagnosis, already in adults.

What about reimbursement of ADHD medications for adults? Position of the Ministry of Health

According to Gazeta.pl, the Ministry of Health announced that there are no plans to introduce reimbursement of ADHD drugs for adults in the future. “In accordance with the arrangements with clinical experts in the field of psychiatry, reimbursement for patients first diagnosed in adulthood is not considered,” reads a fragment of the response sent by the Ministry of Health in published correspondence.

“In the case of ADHD, there is a lot of overdiagnosis, especially in adulthood. This is evidenced by large increases in the consumption of active substances: methyl(o)phenidate or atomoxetine (based on information from prescription fulfillment documents). Our goal is to guarantee access to treatment based on the most reliable data,” added the Ministry of Health.

Refund is possible, but on one condition

However, the Ministry of Health announced that it is considering introducing changes to the reimbursement indications of drugs used in psychiatry, including the treatment of ADHD. Such drugs would be reimbursed for adults with ADHD, but only for those who were diagnosed with the disorder in childhood. In practice, this means that people diagnosed with this disease in adulthood would not be eligible for reimbursement.