The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) on Feb. 27 announced that adjustments to drug price adjustment in 2025 slated to take effect April, will save NT$4.851 billion, or 2.3%, in drug expenditures. The NHIA noted that the prices for 3,150 drugs had their reimbursement pricing reduced, with 34 drugs seeing increased pricing and that this year saw the lowest number of drugs to see reimbursement pricing adjustment since the implementation of the drug expenditure target (DET) mechanism, with the savings destined to boost NHI global budget.

NHIA Medical Review and Pharmaceutical Benefits Division Chief Huang Yu-wen said in an interview on Feb. 27 that certain categories of drugs have been exempt from price adjustments. These include intravenous infusion, antibiotics, essential medications, and drugs produced by fewer than three domestic manufacturers. Also excluded are medications for which manufacturers have requested price reviews due to inability to cover costs, as well as those flagged as being short in supply, those with special manufacturing or import contracts.

Division Chief Huang said that cardiovascular drugs saw the largest price adjustment. Antihypertensive medications, hypolipidemic agents, and antipyretic analgesics saw more modest reimbursement price increases but remain among the most widely prescribed items. The steepest price cuts were observed in drugs for multiple myeloma, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, the three drugs with the highest price increases were all generic drugs, including medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia and schizophrenia.

[2025-2-27/Central News Agency]