The BC government has reversed its decision to cut funding for a ten-year-old girl's life-changing medication, announcing that it will, in fact, be covered for as long as it's needed.Charleigh Pollock, who suffers from Batten disease, had been forced to rely on GoFundMe donations to pay for her bi-weekly infusions of Brineura."I continue to strongly believe that decisions about care should be made by health experts to ensure they are based on the best available evidence," Health Minister Josie Osborne said in a statement. "The letter I received today from Batten disease experts confirms there is significant disagreement between health experts on Brineura, and it is not acceptable that Charleigh and her family suffer as a result of that disagreement about the use of Brineura for Batten disease."During a press conference on Friday, Osborne apologized to the family for "everything they have endured over the past few months" and vowed to reimburse them for the donor-funded treatments. .The move was met with jubilation from British Columbians — but none were happier than Pollock' mom, Jori Fales.."This nightmare is over!!!!" she wrote in an emotional post on Instagram. "I just spoke to Minister Josie Osborne, Charleigh’s government funding for Brineura treatments has been restored. She will receive infusions for as long as she needs them!!!Fales said she was "beyond grateful to all the beautiful humans that have moved mountains for our precious girl," adding that, "the love, support, generousity, compassion, kindness and devotion are unmatched.""I will be thankful for the rest of my life," she added..Since discontinuing funding in June, the government has faced widespread backlash, with both Osborne and Premier Eby being repeatedly questioned about the decision. They maintained that it was not up to them, and that they were just following procedure..US experts claim BC gov't erred in ending funding for Charleigh Pollock's life-changing medication.On Wednesday, over a dozen Batten disease experts from the United States penned a letter calling on the BC government to restore funding."Drawing from our collective and unparalleled expertise in CLN2 disease, we strongly oppose the decision to withdraw funding for life-sustaining ERT from Charleigh Pollock and call for a review of the current discontinuation criteria," they declared. "We are concerned by the clinical and scientific justification employed by the BC Ministry in their decision to terminate treatment coverage."The group went on to provide a detailed medical justification for the aforementioned declaration, breaking down each — in their view — erroneous aspect of the BC NDP's decision.
