After the National Health Insurance Committee (NHIC) agreed to expand this year’s HCV budget by up to NT$1.9 billion, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has released NT$265 million for utilization in the initial stage. Beginning Sept. 20, 2019, HCV patients with stage F3 liver fibrosis will be prioritized for treatment with orally administered direct-acting antivirals. Later, the remainder of the budget will be gradually allocated to ensure treatments are uninterrupted.

With many stakeholder groups raising awareness about HCV treatment, a large number of patients have sought medical attention. By the end of July this year, the number of patients under treatment reached the upper limit of 40,000 covered by the earmark in the National Health Insurance (NHI) global budget. To ensure uninterrupted treatment, the NHIA requested the NHIC to increase this year’s HCV spending. The NHIC subsequently agreed to allocate funds from the “other” category of the global budget while capping the increase at NT$1.9 billion.

The NHIA said that as funds under the NHI global budget have designated uses, the balance of each budget item must be tracked, therefore, the NHIA has decided to prioritize HCV patients with stage F3 liver fibrosis beginning Sept. 20. Based on patient data, around 4,000 late stage patients are expected to enter treatment by the end of this year.

The NHIA said that next year’s NHI global budget is still under negotiation and that it hopes to appeal for further expansion of the HCV budget as well as entering price negotiations with drug manufacturers. The NHIA hopes that multinational drug companies will support Taiwan’s goal of eradicating HCV by 2025.

【2019-09-19 / NHIA】