Expansion of # of members of the Committee to around 105

Maintenance of detailed fields by experts recommended by the Korean Medical Association

The number of members of the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Evaluation Committee of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service will be expanded from around 100 to around 105.

 

It is a policy to strengthen the expertise in evaluating the adequacy of drug treatment benefits by increasing the number of experts recommended by pharmaceutical-related societies by five more.

 

On the 21st, HIRA announced an administrative notice of a partial revision of the committee's operating regulations containing these contents.

 

This committee is a special committee that makes the final decision on whether or not to apply for benefits and whether the benefits of expanded drugs are appropriate.

 

To that extent, the decision of this committee determines the fate of the drug.

 

Drugs that have passed the Drug Evaluation Committee go through negotiations with the National Health Insurance Corporation and are listed on the final reimbursement list.

 

In addition, pharmaceutical companies are always paying attention because it is in charge of the final deliberation of re-evaluation, such as re-evaluation of benefit adequacy and re-evaluation of the maximum amount.

 

The Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Evaluation Committee is held every month, and out of the current 102 members, 17 members will take turns participating in each meeting.

 

Currently, the 8th chairperson is Professor Emeritus Lee of Asan Medical Center in Seoul.

 

This time, HIRA has been reorganized by dividing experts recommended by the Korean Medical Association into detailed specialties.

 

As a result, the Orthopedic Surgery, Colorectal and Rectal Society, Orthopedic Internal Medicine, and Oncology Surgery were added.

 

It is explained that the expansion of the human component of the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Evaluation Committee was promoted in line with this.

 

In the future, the number of members of the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Evaluation Committee is expected to increase from the current 102 to 107.

 

In this amendment, the criteria for selecting the chairperson were also relaxed.

 

Previously, there was a criterion that more than two-thirds of the members present to elect the chairperson, but this provision has been deleted.

 

Kim Kook-hee, head of the New Drug Listing Department at HIRA, explained, "Compared to the subcommittee, unnecessary criteria were deleted." In this amendment, the criteria for the application of exclusion, evasion, and evasion are also revised in order to comply with the Public Officials Conflict of Interest Prevention Act to improve fairness, objectivity, and transparency in the operation of the committee.

 

Accordingly, the period corresponding to private stakeholders was extended from 12 months to 2 years.