The legislature’s Health Committee on March 13 reviewed a draft amendment to the Cancer Control Act, with many legislators urging the government to follow the example set by the U.K. and accelerate the establishment of a Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), which will quicken access to new cancer drugs while easing financial burden on patients. In response, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan said that establishing alternative funding sources for new cancer drugs such as the CDF is a challenging undertaking and that the government will be seeking achieve the same outcome by reforming the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.

Democratic Progressive Party Wu Yu-chin, who also serves as a co-convener of the legislature’s Health Committee, said that Cancer Control Act is the only legal basis for the establishment of the CDF, and should not be constrained by the principles of fiscal discipline, adding that potential funding sources could include tobacco health and welfare surcharge and air pollution fees. New Power Party Legislator Wang Wan-yu said that while discussions on establishing the CDF have begun, there remains a clear lack of actual progress.

Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chou Jih-haw said that authorities have already shifted its policy to expedite the inclusion of new cancer drugs on the NHI fee schedule after gaining approval in Taiwan. New cancer drugs are conditionally included on the NHI fee schedule for two years, and removed if efficacy does not meet expectations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will lead a delegation of National Health Insurance Administration, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, Health Promotion Administration, and other departments to the U.K. to learn more about the CDF (now reorganized as the Innovative Medicines Fund) and how it operates in conjunction with U.K.’s National Health Service, with the hope of forming preliminary conclusions on the matter. 

[2023-3-13/United Daily News]