Hospitals have reported shortages of 58 drugs, but most of them are not on a procurement price adjustment list, so the list would still be published on Wednesday after a short delay, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said yesterday.
Amid reports that the agency is planning to cut its drug procurement budget by up to NT$15 billion (US$492.13 million), NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-
liang (石崇良) on Wednesday said that it only seeks to cut the budget by about NT$8.18 billion.
The NHIA normally revises the budget to purchase NHI-funded drugs annually, but it has not been adjusted for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shih said.
Because of the hiatus, prices for 6,009 drugs would be cut this year, he said, adding that drugmakers would be allowed to negotiate if adjusted procurement prices are not enough to cover production costs.
The prices would not fall below the floor price and prices for about 88 drugs that have low stocks would not be cut, he said.
However, the NHIA did not release the list on Friday as it had planned.
Chinese-language media reported that the missed release was because a drug shortage had worsened, affecting several hospitals.
The NHIA yesterday said that it met with medical representatives and heads of medical centers to discuss the drug shortage, with the Taiwan Community Hospital Association providing the meeting with a list of 58 drugs that were in short supply.
After comparing the association’s list with the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage evaluation list, the NHIA determined that most of the 58 drugs were not among those scheduled to have their procurement price cut, NHIA Medical Review and Pharmaceutical Benefits Division head Huang Yu-wen (黃育文) said.
Some of the 58 drugs have the same ingredients and dosages as ones that the NHIA has been procuring for more than 15 years, or for which alternatives are available, while others are running low because of malfunctions in packaging machines, shipping delays or other issues, which would gradually ease, Huang said.
The association’s list would not affect the planned procurement price cuts, she said, adding that the NHIA list is expected to be released on Wednesday.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to