Next-generation sequencing tests for precision cancer therapy might be covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) from May, National Health Insurance Administration Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.
About 830,000 people sought medical treatment for cancer in 2022, and the total NHI drug expense was about NT$39.2 billion (US$1.25 billion), of which 61.7 percent was spent on targeted therapy, Shih said while attending a conference on next-generation sequencing held by Taiwan Precision Medicine Society in Taipei.
The NHI covers 26 types of targeted therapy, aimed at 11 gene loci (fixed positions on a chromosome) and for the treatment of 10 types of cancer, he said.
Photo: CNA
Coverage for next-generation sequencing would mainly be for gene locus testing, he added.
The technology can examine multiple gene loci at once for 19 types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, fallopian tube cancer, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer of the liver), primary peritoneal cancer and prostate cancer.
The NHI plan would include three types of payment models: an independent payment for longer gene segments of the breast cancer 1 and breast cancer 2 genes, payment for a small set of fewer than 100 genes based on the most basic gene loci of each type of cancer, and payment for a large set of more than 100 gene loci, Shih said, adding that people can pay the difference in cost out of pocket according to their personal needs.
To be covered, the test results must be uploaded to the National Health Research Institutes’ database, he said.
Issues concerning the NHI-covered tests would be discussed in a specialists meeting on Feb. 6, and hopefully the policy can take effect in May or June, he said, adding that it is expected to cost about NT$600 million to NT$1 billion, and the budget might be expanded next year if possible.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its