The 2024 National Health Insurance (NHI) global budget allocates around NT$7 billion for new drugs and new medical technologies, including NT$2.4 billion for conditional reimbursement of new drugs whose safety and efficacy have yet to be fully verified with clinical trials to meet patients’ immediate needs. However, while patient groups have applauded the government’s efforts in taking the first step towards establishing a new Cancer Drug Fund (CDF), it does little in helping to ease the financial burden on patients who must pay out-of-pocket for new drugs that have completed phase 3 clinical trials.

HOPE Foundation for Cancer Care Vice President Yen Bi-wen also commended the government’s aspirations to set up the CDF, but currently it will bring little help for patients, as due to the need to limit financial impacts to the NHI, the scope of indications eligible for reimbursements have been narrowed, resulting in 70% of patients shouldering steep out-of-pocket charges for the drugs they need. Vice President Yen said that while the CDF improves access to unproven drugs in phase 2 clinical trials, the NHI’s new drug budget should also be expanded to cover new drugs that have completed phase 3 trials.

The Taiwan Young Patient Association Vice President Eric Liu said that drug reimbursement under the NHI significantly lags behind international guidance. He said that the current CDF, designated for drugs from phase 2 trials with clinical uncertainty, does not meet patients' need for accelerated reimbursement of drugs that passed phase 3 trials. Formosa Cancer Foundation Vice President Tsai Li-chuan emphasized that the NHI should expedite reimbursement for drugs to demonstrate that Taiwan is on par with global clinical practice guidelines to prevent Taiwan from being excluded from international clinical trials, which will be detrimental to the competitiveness of Taiwan's bioscience industry. National Taiwan University Cancer Center Superintendent Yang Chih-hsin acknowledged that Taiwan's healthcare capabilities have lagged behind international standards because only approved drugs should be prioritized for NHI reimbursement, followed by those that have passed phase 2 clinical trials in accordance with the law.

In response, Ministry of Health and Welfare Deputy Minister Wang Pi-sheng said that the government is committed to promoting the CDF and will continue to make adjustments and exploring ways to secure long-term sources of funding with the hope of establish an affordable system to assess the urgency of medica needs. As for cases where drugs have already obtained approval but have alternative treatment options, a parallel review will be applied to expedite the NHI approval process.

[2024-1-4/Liberty Times]