Payment for new cancer drugs has been accelerated. Nearly 80% of cancer patients who purchase drugs at their own expense spend more than 30,000 yuan a month.

Payment for new cancer drugs has been accelerated, but some patients still bear high drug costs. The Taiwan Cancer Foundation (Taiwan Cancer) released a survey today. Among the 159 respondents who still pay for their own medicines, nearly 80% of them spend more than NT$30,000 per month on medicines. It calls for expanding benefits and establishing a fund to stabilize financial resources.

Zhang Jialun, deputy CEO of Taiwan Cancer Medical, said that the average waiting time for new cancer drugs from obtaining drug licenses to health insurance payment will drop from 738.7 days in 2023 to 307 days in 2025, a reduction of 58.4% in two years; but in 2020 Of the 51 new cancer drugs included in the National Health Insurance from 2025 to 2025, 47 of the 127 approved indications, or about 37%, are still unpaid; the scope of payment indications for 41 drugs is narrower than the drug license limit, and there are restrictions on drug selection, duration of treatment, etc.

Zhang Jialun said that of the 63 treatment items listed as Category 1 recommendations by the National Cancer Information Network (NCCN) in the United States, 59 have obtained Taiwanese drug licenses, of which 12 are still not included in health insurance, and it is recommended to prioritize assessment for benefits.

Tsai Li-juan, deputy CEO of Taiwan Cancer Center, said that an online survey in September recovered 762 valid samples, including patients, family members and caregivers. Among them, 526 had received treatment since 2025, 67.9% of the drug expenses came from the National Health Insurance or Cancer New Drug Fund, and 65.6% had been told by doctors that there were treatment options that were not covered by the National Health Insurance. The main reasons for out-of-pocket expenses include failure to pay for indications, as well as incompatibility with cancer type, stage, recurrence, and metastasis conditions, etc.

The Taiwan Cancer Foundation today released a survey on treatment accessibility and family burden for cancer patients, as well as an analysis of the health insurance payment profile of cancer drugs. (Photo by reporter Luo Bi)

Among the 309 people who had paid for their own medicines, 159 still continued to pay for them. 78.6% of them had an average monthly drug cost of more than 30,000 yuan, more than half of them exceeded 50,000 yuan, 18.2% exceeded 100,000 yuan, and 49% had affected their living expenses or suffered a more serious burden. Among the 144 people who still pay for themselves and have been advised to use unpaid medicines, 29.9% of their families need to raise funds or borrow money.

Taiwan Cancer Center CEO Zhang Wenzhen said that the 10-billion New Cancer Drug Fund included 11 new drugs covering 6 types of cancer in the first year. Based on the drugs approved so far, it is estimated that about 4,100 families will benefit throughout the year. As of October this year, there are 4 new drugs and 5 indications that have become effective for payment, and another 5 drugs and 6 indications have been approved by the joint meeting and are yet to be completed.

Shen Yansheng, a member of the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, said that President Lai Ching-te has proposed the goal of reducing the cancer standardized mortality rate by one-third in 2030 and promotes a 10-billion new cancer drug fund. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, in addition to expanding screening and early diagnosis, it is also necessary to accelerate the payment of new drugs and establish a re-evaluation and withdrawal mechanism for existing drugs.

Ou Huangzi, a professor at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology of National Cheng Kung University, suggested that in addition to accelerating the collection of new cancer drugs, the payment conditions in the temporary payment stage should also be rethought, and the efficacy and safety should be continuously tracked, and local data should be accumulated. Zhang Wenzhen called for promoting the legalization of the fund's financial resources, planning in advance for regular health insurance connection, and supporting patients' continued treatment.