Penza, 31 October 2012. PenzaNews. Over 10,300 beneficiaries living in the Penza region were provide with free medication for the total amount of 141 million rubles during 9 months of 2012.

According to the Head of the regional Ministry of Health and Social Development Tatyana Manukhina, the experts note a tendency of reduction of the number of federal beneficiaries from 12,100 people in 2010 to 10,300 in 2012.

“This situation is explained by the fact that the citizens reject this kind of support in favor of its money equivalent,” she said.

The agency interlocutor added that at the same time the number of patients receiving free medication for so-called “high-cost nosology” has grown in the Penza region.

“According to this program, free medication is given to those with rare diseases such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, pituitary dwarfism, Gaucher’s disease, myeloid leukemia, multiple sclerosis, as well as people who have undergone organ transplantation and are in need of immunosuppressants. The category of this kind of patients numbers 925 people,” Tatiana Manukhina clarified.

According to her, these patients used over 9,5 thousand prescriptions in 9 months totaling over 350 million.

“Average cost of medication prescribed in one recipe exceeded 35 thousand rubles,” said the Head of the press service of the Ministry of Health in the Penza region.