Pharmaceutical News
Doctors urge the BNHI to relax the reimbursement regulations for diabetes drugs
2022/06/19

In a press conference, Dr Tsai Shih-Tzer, the President of the Formosa Diabetes Care Foundation, pointed out the poor accessibility of diabetes drugs in Taiwan.  There are about 2.4 million diabetic patients in Taiwan, who are at high risk of developing comorbidities.  Some medicines are available on the market, such as GLP-1RA, which can help control sugar level, reduce the risk of comorbidities and lower the appetite for foods.  However, the BNHI limits the access to such medicines.  Only diabetic patients in very grave conditions can receive the NHI-reimbursed incretins.  Dr Lee Hong-Yuan, the CEO of the Formosa Diabetes Care Foundation, urged the BNHI to relax the reimbursement regulation for incretin drugs.

According to Dr Tsai, 2.4 million diabetic patients in Taiwan are at high risk of comorbidities, such as stroke, heart failure and kidney failure.  Patients should take care not only to manage their diabetes, but also to manage other possible health risks.

Dr Tsai noted that the treatments of diabetes and its comorbidities are a big financial burden for the NHI.  There are 400,000 patients with chronic kidney problems.  The total treatment cost is about NT$53.32 billion a year.  The annual treatment of 1.53 million patients with type II diabetes costs NT$30.96 billion.  These two conditions rank first and second on the NHI spending chart.

Dr Tsai pointed out that diabetic patients should control their diet, exercise regularly and receive proper treatments.  The biggest challenge is to prescribe the medicine appropriate for each patient at different stages of the disease.  Proper management of blood sugar level can effectively reduce the risk of myocardial infarction in diabetic patients.

Dr Lee Hong-Yuan expressed that by delaying the treatment for a year, a diabetic patient will be 62% more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases.  The international treatment practice has shifted the focus from “sugar control” to “organ protection” so as to prevent comorbidities.   Dr Lee suggested that doctors should firstly evaluate a patient’s heart and renal functions and if necessary use GLP-1RA or SGLT-2i as early as possible.

Dr Lee pointed out that the NHI reimbursement regulation is very strict.  The NHI-reimbursed incretins are only available for patients whose glycosylated hemoglobin level is over 8.5% for at least 6 months, or for patients with established severe cardiovascular diseases.  Clinically, these criteria are too strict to give patients the access to proper treatment.

【2022-06-14 / Taiwan Awakening News】