Sat, Aug 17, 2024 page1

• NHIA extends coverage for cancer medications

  • By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
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  The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) yesterday detailed newly extended coverage for cancer drugs and treatments for other diseases, including infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS).

  The NHIA has allocated NT$160 million (US$4.96 million) for the cancer drugs and NT$230 million for the other medications.

  The policy package for novel medication to treat cancer or cancer-related illnesses would benefit 3,085 people with cancer and 52,000 people with Helicobacter pylori infection, a disease linked to stomach cancer, NHIA Medical Review and Pharmaceutical Benefits Division head Huang Yu-wen (黃育文) said.

  

  The National Health Insurance Administration logo is pictured in an undated photograph.

  Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times

  From October, elotuzumab and pomalidomide would be approved for use in third-line treatment of bone marrow cancer in conjunction with dexamethasone, benefiting 190 to 260 people, Huang said.

  Extending coverage to the so-called “triple therapy” for people with late-stage bone marrow cancer would bring the nation’s medical practices surrounding treatment in line with the latest oncological guidelines, he said.

  Starting the same month, insurance coverage would be approved for drugs containing denosumab, which is used to treat colorectal, bladder, kidney, cervix, ovary, esophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancers that affect the bones, he said.

  The drugs would reduce the risk of fractures and other skeletal-related events, with 1,500 people expected to benefit, Huang said.

  This month, medications containing trastuzumab emtansine — previously reserved for treating metastasized breast cancer — were approved for people with early-stage breast cancer, reducing mortality by 34 percent, he said.

  The expansion is expected to benefit 551 to 755 people, he added.

  Also this month, the NIHA broadened use approval for hormonal drugs for pancreatic cancer, lengthening the insurance-covered treatment period from 24 months to 36 months, Huang said.

  Coverage for the enzalutamide-abiraterone drug combination, as well as apalutamide, is expected to benefit 150 to 170 people and 200 to 220 people respectively, he said, adding that the policy change reflected shifts in global cancer standards.

  Starting this month, coverage has been approved to use antibacterials to treat people with Helicobacter pylori infections who were diagnosed via a breath test, fecal test or post-endoscopic biopsy, instead of being limited to those diagnosed by an endoscopic test or X-rays, Huang said.

  A separate policy package would approve insurance payments for IRDS, generalized pustular psoriasis and Crohn’s disease, in addition to relaxing limits on eligibility for coverage for medicine to treat spinal muscular atrophy, he said.

  Starting next month, a new drug brand named Curosurf would be covered for use treating IRDS, while the use of surfactants would be approved for newborns who are not intubated, Huang said.

  Starting in October, risankizumab would be covered to treat people with Cohn’s disease who have had two consecutive post-therapy recurrences of the disease, he said.

  Coverage for continuous use of the drug would be authorized for people who had a second recurrence within three months of the therapy wearing off, Huang said.

  This month, medical coverage for drugs to treat spinal muscular atrophy — including injectables containing nusinersen and orally administered doses containing risdiplam — was expended to encompass a border range of patients, he said.

  This means that anyone who became symptomatic before age 18 is eligible for the medicine, instead of only those who first had symptoms before they were three, he said, adding that some restrictions based on disease severity have been removed.

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