Reported by Liu Chia-Yun and Chen Jei-Ling from Taipei

In order to achieve the MOHW’s vision of eradicating hepatitis C by 2025, the NHI Drug Dispensing Items and Fee Schedule Joint Establishment Meeting made a decision to extend the reimbursement for hepatitis C drugs to all patients diagnosed with hepatitis C.  It doesn’t matter whether they have liver fibrosis or not.  About 40,000 patients will receive the new oral drugs next year.  The NHIA estimates that at least 210,000 patients will benefit from this policy in the next 7 years.  The NHIA also decided to make the NHI-reimbursed anti-herpes virus agents fully accessible from next month.  About 500,000 patients a year will benefit from the new policy.

Currently, the NHI-reimbursed hepatitis C drugs are restricted to patients with at least stage 3 live fibrosis.  About 30,000 patients have been treated with the new drugs for hepatitis C since the NHIA started the reimbursement two years ago.  The average cure rate is 79%.

Dr Chen Shih-Chung, the MOHW Minister, expressed that in order to eradicate hepatitis C, the NHIA is going to remove the reimbursement criterion from next January.  Patients confirmed with the infection of hepatitis C will be eligible for the treatment of the new oral drugs.  The National Hepatitis C Prevention Flagship Office will proactively reach underdiagnosed patients and provide them with appropriate treatments.

Though the results of the new drugs for hepatitis C are impressive, they are quite expensive.  Each treatment course costs over NT$1 million.  The NHIA has negotiated a deal with the drug companies who agreed to cut the price to NT$250,000 per course.  Dr Lee Po-Chang, the General Director of the NHIA, expressed that the NHIA will have another round of price negotiation with drug companies, targeting on NT$160,000-200,000 per course. 

Currently, there are 8 new drugs for hepatitis C on the market.  It is possible to include more new drugs into the NHI Benefit Scheme, if the drug companies are willing to accept the NHIA’s price cut. 

Also, currently, the NHI-reimbursed anti-herpes virus agents are only available for patients with infection on head, neck or genitals, patients with cancer or patients undergoing organ transplantation.  The NHIA decided to relax the reimbursement regulations of acyclovir 400mg from next month.

Last year, about 240,000 patients sought treatments for shingles.  67% of them were over 50 years old whose quality of life was seriously affected by the pains.  The new policy will make anti-herpes virus agents more widely accessible and will benefit more than 500,000 patients, said the NHIA.

【2018-11-16/ United Daily News】