The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) released its latest ranking in terms of drug prescription volume and expenses for 2018. The costliest drug was for preventing heart attacks, on which spending was tallied at NT$2.51 billion, while high blood pressure drugs were the most prescribed with 1.5 million patients receiving treatment. Due to policies, HCV and HIV/AIDS drugs made the top 20 ranking for the first time.

According to the NHIA, drug expenditure last year reached NT$195.7 billion, or about 28.5 percent of the period’s global budget of NT$683.3 billion. Drug expenditure has been rising consistently, compared to NT$170.3 billion in 2016 and NT$183.5 billion in 2017.

The list of top ten drugs prescribed is dominated by those treating cancer and chronic diseases. Among them, the most expensive drug in terms of total expenditure are antiplatelet drugs preventing strokes and heart attacks, costing a total of NT$2.51 billion, followed by statin drugs used to lower cholesterol at NT$2.33 billion, with NT$2.2 billion on breast cancer drugs coming in at third place.

Ranks fourth to tenth are represented by hemarthrosis drugs at NT$2.12 billion, HBV at NT$1.88 billion, direct-acting antiviral drugs for HCV at NT$1.84 billion, coronary artery disease at NT$1.79 billion, chronic myeloid leukemia at NT$1.71 billion, older HCV drugs at NT$1.68 billion, and finally drugs treating high blood lipid levels at NT$1.63 billion.

In terms of volume, the most prescribed drugs are those treating high blood pressure, sugar and lipid levels. Among them aredrugs controlling blood pressure with 1.5 million patients undergoing treatment, followed by the 650,000 patients taking rosuvastatin to control blood lipid levels and the 460,000 taking atorvastatin, also to control blood lipid levels.

An NHIA official said that although the budget for HCV has been expanding since 2017 following the government’s drive to eradicate the disease, leading to two HCV drugs entering the top 10 in 2018, overall spending is expected to decrease in the future due to the introduction of two effective new drugs. As the new drugs have demonstrate a high cure rate, total prescriptions are expected to fall dramatically.

In addition, as the Centers for Disease Control is no longer funding HIV/AIDS patients that have been on treatments for two years since 2017, the burden has since fallen to the National Health Insurance. That has resulted in HIV/AIDS drugs entering the top 20 drug list, with 9,530 patients receiving treatments.

The NHIA said that due to an aging population, more and more people have been afflicted with chronic diseases associated with high blood sugar, pressure and lipid levels and require lifelong drug regimens. To prevent dependence on drugs, the public is advised to do more exercises.

【2019-08-12 / CNA】