Multiple Sclerosis treatment in India now cheaper, thanks to new therapies

Earlier considered prohibitively expensive, treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) have become affordable in India over the past few years, with doctors urging patients to come forward and receive treatment, instead of choosing to live with the disorder. With the government mulling several proposals to include MS along with 21 other disabilities in the Ayushman Bharat scheme, a National Health Protection Mission, MS patients can soon avail themselves of more benefits, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

A common neurological disorder, MS is detected more in persons between 20 and 45 years old. While most patients, post-diagnosis, tend to back away from treatment because of the expenses involved, India's Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has been pushing to extend the government's ambitious National Health Protection Mission to people with any of the 21 disabilities recognized under law.

The centrally-sponsored Mission, launched in 2018, aims at providing a coverage of $6,775 per family annually and is meant to benefit more than 100 million families belonging to the poor and vulnerable sections of society.