Under current NHI operational paradigms, reimbursement approval for innovative pharmaceuticals is heavily restricted to late-line, severe clinical patient sub-cohorts. This policy framework bars early-stage patients from accessing novel therapies, functionally forcing individuals to wait for objective disease progression before qualifying for state-funded care. Liu Huan-jui, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Young Patient Association (TYPA), urged the government to overhaul its reimbursement philosophy to ensure patients receive optimal therapies at the correct clinical timing, rather than pushing internationally recognized first-line treatments (such as immuno-oncology regimens) to late-line settings solely to meet short-term state budgetary targets.
Democratic Social Deliberation in Health Tech Assessment (HTA): Dr. Jasmine Pua of Fu Jen Catholic University noted that an idealized resource distribution framework must explicitly define its prioritization metrics—balancing safety, real-world clinical efficacy, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER), and unmet medical needs. She advised the government to establish multi-stakeholder consensus panels to define allocation criteria openly, ensuring rare or low-volume conditions are not marginalized by louder advocacy groups, thereby safeguarding medical equity through transparent public deliberation.
Securing Legal and Financial Continuity for Cancer Funds: While the government has allocated approximately NT$10 billion across the Cancer New Drug Fund and various temporary reimbursement pathways, these resources are primarily derived from standard public administrative budgets and lack a permanent statutory or legislative foundation. This creates high budget instability. Advocacy groups emphasize the critical need to build a permanent legal transition mechanism: once local real-world evidence (RWE) is compiled and clinical efficacy is verified, these therapies must seamlessly transition into regular NHI coverage to prevent disruptive interruptions in patient care.
Adapting to AI-Driven and Drug-Device Hybrid Iterations: Looking toward the future of healthcare technology, Dr. Pua emphasized that the sector is undergoing a rapid evolution toward AI integrations, digital health therapeutics, and complex hybrid products—such as next-generation cardiovascular drug-eluting stents or pharmaceutical regimens paired with AI-assisted diagnostic software nodes. These clinical advancements will fundamentally alter frontline hospital operations. She urged the state to abandon passive regulatory stances and actively establish flexible, agile budgetary channels and specialized funds capable of absorbing these hybrid innovations, shielding patients from therapeutic disruption amid rapid technological transitions.
Resource:新藥給付 學者籲公開討論
