The answer is to improve the drug price system

The MOHW, willingness to Administer Cancer and Rare Diseases for Reduction in reimbursement of Choline alfoscerate

The NHIS, promises to prepare a device to secure transparency in drug price negotiations in the second half of the year

The drug price system should be improved in order to enhance patient access to new drugs such as cancer and rare disease treatments.

 

Through the 'non-face-to-face discussion to enhance patient accessibility of new drugs in the era of COVID-19' hosted by Lee Yong-ho, a member of the National Assembly and hosted by the Future Health Network on the 23rd, clinical field experts, patients, and pharmaceutical companies gathered opinions about ▲Flexible application of ICER values ▲ Risk-sharing system and expanded exemption from economic feasibility evaluation ▲ Post-priority evaluation ▲ Generic drug price cut ▲ Separate fund.

 

The government also acknowledged the need to improve the drug price system, but emphasized that limited in reality.

 

Lee Hyung-ki, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Seoul National University Hospital, who was in charge of the topic presentation, said, "Economic evaluation is difficult or the ICER value should be flexibly applied in the form of a band for cancer and severe disease treatments, and it still took 746 days for the total drug to pay and 729 days for the risk-sharing system, so there is no difference, but there is no alternative to the risk-sharing system."

Choi Young-hyun, honors professor at Korea national university of Welfare (former head of the Department of Welfare) also said, "In the case of anticancer drugs, it takes 757 days to pay.

 

Patients and their families have no choice but to mourn." After paying, in the process of negotiating a drug price with the NHIS, the method of adjusting the amount of use through drug price linkage can be an alternative." Choi In-hwa, managing director of Roche Korea (Chairman of the KRPIA reimbursement improvement Subcommittee) said that under the current situation, listing new drugs with Korea as a priority would be difficult for global pharmaceutical companies.

 

Managing Director Choi added, "Korea is a country that can invest in new drugs because of the late payment of reimbursement and the high prices.

 

We need to secure various solutions such as improving the drug price system such as total amount or positive list system for new drugs.“ On behalf of the patient, Baek Min-hwan, the representative of the Korea Multiple Myeloma Patients Association, asked about the government's measures to improve the RSA system and pay ultra-high-priced anticancer drugs.

 

CEO Baek suggested, "It takes too long to be registered for benefits after approval.

 

Patients are told to increase accessibility through positive list system altogether rather than waiting for them to die."

The health authorities also sympathized with this, but said that there were some differences in perception.

 

"The flexible application of the ICER value is simpler or not easier than expected, and it is good in terms of reinforcing guarantees, but we have to consider rising drug prices." said Choi Gyeong-ho, the secretary of the MOHW's insurance drug department.

 

However, he said that the system could be supplemented by continuously collecting opinions.

 

Kim Ae-ryeon, head of the pharmaceutical management department of the HIRA, said that she would release a proposal to improve the ICER value sooner or later.

 

Kim said, "We are conducting a study on the ICER threshold, and we will be able to disclose the improvement plan once it is finished." Regarding the expansion of the economic evaluation exemption, she explained that as of June this year, 17 ingredients and 28 items were registered as an economic evaluation omission system.

 

The NHIS also promised to prepare a mechanism for transparency in drug price negotiations by the second half of this year so that it can escape from 'drug price negotiations that are not known at all'.

 

While negotiating drug prices, Park Jong-heon, head of the NHIS' reimbursement strategy department, said that we should have disclosed data such as the status of reimbursement and price hikes due to increased usage, and transparently disclose data to review if there is a disagreement.

 

He said, “Until now, there were restrictions due to personal information protection or infringement of third party rights, and we will make a track on the part that can be shared as much as possible until the second half of the year so that there is no talk of negotiating without knowing anything.” On the other hand, the MOHW mentioned re-evaluation of registered materials regarding the expansion of insurance finances to strengthen access to new drugs.

 

Choi said, "The overall health care budget is about ₩19 to 20 trillion, but it is impossible to set a budget for how much to spend in a certain field, through a reasonable increase in health care costs or re-evaluation of drugs such as Choline alfoscerate, and it will be possible to expand the coverage of cancer or rare diseases." In connection with the point of YouTube viewers that the Severe Disease Deliberation Committee of the HIRA is struggling to pay for cost-effectiveness, Choi said, “We cannot help but consider the overall cost of health care while judging the usefulness of the new drug in cancer, and tt any stage, we have to judge the cost.”