The National Health Insurance (NHI) cannot provide the best care for people with lung cancer despite government goals to lower cancer mortality rates, the Taiwan Young Patient Association said on Nov. 26, criticizing the attention given to novel treatments while standard methods rack up large bills.
Association vice president Liu Huan-jui (劉桓睿) said that 66 percent of people with late-stage lung cancer undergoing treatment elect to take targeted therapy, while 32 percent elect to undergo chemotherapy, and others opt for surgical removal, radiation therapy or immunotherapy.
However, more than 60 percent said they changed their treatment methods, with 52.8 percent saying they did so because there were more effective methods and another 40 percent saying worsening conditions forced them to alter medications, Liu said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The remaining respondents said the side effects of their original treatments were too much to handle.
Asked whether they knew of the Nonclinical Evaluation for Anticancer Pharmaceuticals, only 8.3 percent said they were aware, highlighting that 90 percent of patients needed clarification, and 47.8 percent said they had never heard of it, the survey showed.
The survey showed that 88.8 percent of respondents said they wished doctors would clearly state which treatments were not covered by the NHI program and help patients to understand all options.
More than one-half of cancer patients have had to change therapies mid-treatment, with 40 percent paying out-of-pocket, the report said.
More than 76 percent of respondents said they could handle additional monthly medical bills up to NT$50,000, but the survey showed that up to 55 percent pay more than NT$50,000 monthly.
Patients’ financial sources to foot their medical bills came from insurance, savings or salary, or they had to rely on financial aid from family, the survey showed.
The survey responses demonstrated that the percentage of cancer treatments that were paid out of pocket was a significant stress factor, the report said.
More than 93 percent of respondents said they were worried that their expenses would reduce family spending, such as school fees, or affect their ability to pay for car and home loans.
Hiked NHI premiums in recent years have not seen a similar growth in the number of cancer treatment medications being covered, Liu said, adding that cancer patients did not need unproven innovative medicine, but standard treatment medications that are internationally recognized.
The survey was conducted online between Oct. 11 and Nov. 3, garnering 317 valid responses.
Seventy percent of respondents were under the age of 50, while 71.9 percent were third and fourth-stage cancer patients. 77.9 percent suffered from lung adenocarcinoma, with 10 percent each suffering from squamous cell carcinoma and small-cell carcinoma, and the remaining respondents suffering from large cell carcinoma.
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