The Cabinet yesterday passed a proposal to fund new cancer medicines and would allocate NT$5 billion (US$153.82 million) from next year’s budget to the program.
As cancer has long been the leading cause of death in Taiwan, the Cabinet approved the proposal from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to “raise the accessibility of new cancer medicines” in line with the national cancer control program.
The plan is part of President William Lai’s (賴清德) “Healthy Taiwan” policy, with the aim of reducing cancer deaths by one-third by 2030.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
To meet the medicinal needs of people with cancer, the ministry would set up a national institute to assess health technology — which would be a non-departmental public body — launch a parallel review system and establish a fund for new cancer drugs, National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) told a news conference after the Cabinet meeting.
The Executive Yuan would allocate NT$5 billion from the official budget to the National Health Insurance fund as a fund for temporary new cancer drugs, which is expected to eventually reach and remain at NT$10 billion, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said.
While some of the funds would be allocated to the NHI fund in the short term, amendments to the Cancer Control Act (癌症防治法) would be formulated to stabilize financial sources of the new medicines fund in the medium and long term, Shih said.
The budget would be the main source of funding, which is projected to reach NT$10 billion within three years, he said, adding that medicine reviews, financial controls, eligibility evaluations and information openness would be established to ensure the program’s effectiveness.
Executive Yuan spokesman Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying that the ministry should accelerate the fund’s establishment to ensure stable payments for new medicines, as well as safeguard the right of the public to medicine.
Meanwhile, the budget for cancer screening programs would receive a NT$4 billion boost to NT$6.8 billion next year, while eligibility would be expanded for government-funded screenings for cervical, colorectal, breast, lung and gastric cancers, Shih said, adding that screening subsidy rules would be changed.
Eligibility would be expanded to offer government-funded lung cancer screenings for people who smoke at least 20 packs of cigarettes per year or have a family history of lung cancer, the NHIA said.
Other expanded eligibility conditions include: breast cancer screenings for women aged 40 to 74, up from 45 to 70 previously; cervical cancer screenings for women from age 25, down from 29; colorectal cancer screenings from age 45, down from 49, or from 40, down from 44 for those with a family history of the disease; HPV testing at age 35, 45 and 65; Helicobacter pylori stool antigen testing for people aged 45 to 74; and continued enhancement of cancer screenings and follow-up checks for positive cases, it said.
To achieve the goal of a “Healthy Taiwan,” the ministry should enhance its development and implementation of public health policies that incorporate exercise and nutrition management, Chen quoted Cho as saying, adding that the application of artificial intelligence should be considered to increase precision and efficiency.
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