After years of campaigns, advocacy groups finally received a promise from the NHIA regarding the establishment of a new cancer drug fund. The NHIA pledged to create a fund of NT$10 billion to support the temporary reimbursement of new cancer drugs whose effectiveness has yet to be confirmed. However, Dr Hsieh Jui-Yuan, the MOHW Minister, stated on the 19th that a new drug fund of NT$6 billion would be established and funded by the NHI global budget for new drugs and new technologies as well as other budgets. A legislator pointed out that this arrangement would make it more challenging for new cancer drugs to be included in the NHI since the NHI budget primarily focuses on reimbursing drugs with proven efficacy. The legislator suggested that the MOHW should develop a proposal for an independent new drug fund.

Legislator Liu Chien-Kuo (DPP) expressed the view that the new cancer drug fund should be established with a legal foundation. During the Executive Yuan's general interpellation, Premier Chen Chien-Jen emphasized the significance of legal research related to this policy. Despite the MOHW's intention to expand the fund's scope to include new drugs and technologies for diseases other than cancer, it remains crucial that the MOHW does not overlook the need for a solid legal basis for the proposed fund.

On average, cancer patients have to wait 787 days for a new cancer drug to become available under the NHI Scheme.  Legislator Liu cited the studies conducted by more than 10 patients groups over the past few years and pointed out that it is impossible to rely solely on the NHI system to improve access to new cancer drugs. It is imperative to establish a special fund to supplement the NHI system.

Legislator Liu highlighted the excessively long waiting period for new drugs to become available under the NHI, even for drugs with proven efficacy that are already listed in international guidelines. If the NHIA opts to allocate NT$3 billion from the budget intended for new drugs and technologies with established efficacy to the new drug fund for drugs with uncertain effectiveness, it would only further prolong the wait for patients and place an additional financial burden on them. He expressed the hope that the MOHW would conduct a comprehensive evaluation and then develop a viable legal draft.

【2023-10-19 / United Daily News】