The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said it is planning to expand eligibility for publicly funded HIV treatment for foreign nationals next year, but has not revealed details of the plan.
CDC Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) on Monday last week said that subsidy regulations are being revised and eligibility for publicly funded treatment for foreign residents would be expanded.
Lo at the time said the expansion would initially prioritize foreign nationals holding permanent residency and those younger than 18, but he offered no other details.
Photo: Lin Huei-chin, Taipei Times
When the CDC was asked last week about how many more foreign nationals would become eligible for publicly funded treatment, it said it was still assessing the potential impact and “has no clear figure yet.”
Under the existing support program, the CDC covers costs for an HIV patient’s first two years on medication, after which expenses are covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.
As of late last month, 36,494 Taiwanese nationals and 615 foreign nationals in Taiwan were HIV-positive, the CDC said on Friday last week.
Of the 615 foreign nationals, 343 were already covered under the NHI system, while the others have been on medication for less than two years and were not yet eligible for NHI coverage, but some have received financial help in other ways, it said.
Those on medication are treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy, commonly known as “cocktail therapy” combining at least two to three antiretroviral drugs, with monthly medication costs capped at NT$13,200.
The enrollment quota for the publicly funded HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program would also be increased next year to 9,500 people from 8,000 this year, Lo said.
The program, designed to prevent the incidence of HIV, is open to Taiwanese and their foreign spouses who meet the criteria and are assessed by physicians, the CDC said.
Taiwan was expected to record about 850 new HIV cases this year, the lowest level since 2003 and down about 11 percent to 12 percent from last year, in part because of the PrEP program, Lo said.
Meanwhile, other new measures to take effect starting next year include the expansion of fertility subsidies, which would apply to women who are enrolled in social insurance (including foreign spouses of Taiwanese) and mothers of newborns who are not enrolled in social insurance.
The subsidy amount would be NT$100,000 per child, which would increase based on the number of babies, such as twins or multiple births.
The adult pneumococcal vaccine program would be launched on Jan. 15 next year. It would cover people aged 65 or older, indigenous people aged 55 to 64, and people aged 19 to 64 at high risk for invasive pneumococcal disease. The vaccine would be provided in two phases under the public subsidy program, allowing people to save about NT$4,500 in out-of-pocket costs.
From Thursday to Feb. 28 next year, the scope of free public COVID-19 vaccinations would also be expanded. Anyone aged six months or older who has not yet received the vaccine would be eligible for a free shot. The cost of the COVID-19 vaccine when paid privately is at least NT$4,000.
Nationwide gastric cancer screening would also be introduced next year, offering a one-time Helicobacter pylori screening for people aged 45 to 79.
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