The new medical insurance drug list landed, and new drugs for the treatment of lung cancer were included in the reimbursement

Ms. Yang, who lives in Handan City, Hebei Province, 52 years old this year, was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2022, after active treatment, the condition was temporarily controlled, in January 2024, Ms. Yang's condition worsened, after genetic testing, the doctor recommended the use of targeted drugs "Suvotinib tablet" treatment, when each box of drugs sold for nearly 10,000 yuan, you need to take 4 boxes a month, Despite the assistance of the China Charity Federation, even so, Ms. Yang needed to pay more than 210,000 yuan a year, and the huge medical expenses brought a heavy burden to the family.

"Suvotinib tablet" was approved in China in August 2023, and is the world's first and only new drug for non-small cell lung cancer for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations (EGFR Exon20ins). EGFR Exon20ins is a rare and difficult target, and there is no clinically agreed standard treatment regimen, and the efficacy of traditional treatment regimens is very limited. Therefore, the prognosis of patients with EGFR Exon20ins mutant lung cancer is very poor, with a 5-year survival rate of only 8%. The results of clinical studies of Suvotinib showed that the objective response rate (ORR) for second-line treatment of EGFR Exon20ins mutant advanced NSCLC was as high as 61%, a 3.4-fold increase relative to the treatment status.

On January 3, 2025, Ms. Yang came to the hospital to issue a drug prescription, and saw that the price of "Suvotinib tablets" entered the medical insurance catalog dropped by more than 50% compared with the previous, Ms. Yang was very excited. "Less than 10,000 yuan a month medical costs, a year is more than 120,000, is the medical insurance gave me the hope of life."

The National Medical Insurance Administration has carried out the adjustment work of the medical insurance drug list for seven consecutive years, adding a total of 835 drugs to the list, and the speed of new drugs entering the list has been accelerating. 91 drugs have been added to the new drug list, 90 of which are drugs approved for market within five years, increasing the total number of drugs in the list to 3,159. It covers cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases, rare diseases, anti-infection, mental illness and other fields, and has built a stable life and health barrier for the people. By the end of 2024, the cumulative benefit of negotiated drugs during the agreement period is 885 million people, and the cumulative burden reduction for patients exceeds 930 billion yuan. Behind the figures, the national "real money" policy dividend is the innovation of the medical insurance system in line with the national conditions, and the confidence of the difficult people to dare to fight against major and serious diseases.

Source: Hebei Medical Insurance Bureau

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