Health insurance covers an additional 30 expensive cancer drugs.

According to the draft amendment to the list of chemical and biological drugs covered by health insurance, the Ministry of Health plans to add 84 drugs, including 30 cancer treatments. This is also the group with the highest number of added drugs, mainly new inventions such as targeted therapies, monoclonal antibodies, and immunotherapy drugs.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. (Illustrative image)

Medical experts say these drugs offer groundbreaking diagnostic and treatment benefits, but they always come with a hefty price tag.

Data from the independent medical website Drugs.com and reports from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) indicate that leading immunotherapy treatments cost patients approximately $14,000 to $16,000 per month. Similarly, targeted therapies for lung cancer cost around $18,000 per month, while superantibody-guided treatments require a budget of up to $170,000 for a year of treatment.

In Vietnam, specifically for cancer, according to 2023 statistics, health insurance covered over 7.5 trillion VND for cancer treatment drugs, accounting for 15.8% of total health insurance medical examination and treatment expenses.

However, targeted therapies and immunotherapy are expensive, and health insurance does not cover many treatments, with patients mainly paying out of pocket, which is a real burden for patients and their families. A person undergoing targeted therapy or immunotherapy may spend between 120-150 million VND per month, and could spend billions of VND to complete a course of treatment.

Therefore, if the draft is implemented on schedule, many families could significantly reduce their financial burden this year.

In parallel with the above policies, authorities are also reviewing the list of 62 critical illnesses, allowing patients to receive direct examination and treatment at specialized hospitals without referral letters. These synchronized steps help patients access high-quality treatment protocols more quickly, while also thoroughly addressing the problem of overcrowding at tertiary hospitals.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/bao-hiem-y-te-chi-tra-them-30-thuoc-ung-thu-dat-tien-post899564.html