The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare hosted the initiation ceremony of the Center for Health Policy and Technology Assessment (CHPTA) on December 27, 2023. The CHPTA began its operation on January 1, 2024, marking a new milestone in health technology assessment (HTA) for Taiwan.
In response to people’s need for the latest medical technology, new healthcare services, and new drugs arising from the rapid development of medical technology, the NHIA has promulgated multiple policy reforms regarding NHI-covered drugs in 2023. Such reforms include provisional listing, increasing budgets for new drugs, and implementing the parallel review mechanism. In May 2023, the NHIA and the Center for Drug Evaluation signed a partnership agreement with the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to initiate relevant exchange activities successively. The NHIA has learned from the UK’s experiences and established a designated agency for health policy and technology assessment.
In addition to assisting in the payment review of new medical technology, drugs, and medical materials, providing pharmacoeconomic assessments, policy assessments, and personnel trainings, the CHAPTA also plays an important role in information and experience sharing between Taiwan and international HTA organizations. The CHAPTA will help to speed up the inclusion of new drugs in the NHI package and extract experiences from the development of HTA organizations worldwide to lay down the foundation for Taiwan’s HTA development. Starting from January 1, 2024, the CHAPTA has implemented the parallel review process and started cost-effectiveness assessments for new drugs on provisional listing. For drugs that are eligible for parallel review, the CHPTA may suggest the NHIA to approve its inclusion in the NHI payment package when the pharmaceutical company submits the new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration. In this way, the new drug may be included in the NHI package within 6 months of it obtaining the permit; otherwise, new drugs are typically included in the NHI coverage 10 months after the NHIA receives the application. Additionally, a total of 4 new drugs and 2 new indications (including lung cancer, cholagiocarcinoma, neuroblastoma, leukemia, tumor with NTRK gene fusion, and the latest cell therapy product, CAR-T) have been included in the provisional listing so far. The CHAPTA shall gather real world evidence(RWE) and clinical trial results to conduct cost-effectiveness assessment to ensure adequate allocation of NHI resources and relieve the financial burden for the NHI and the public.
Minister Jui-Yuan Hsueh of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in the ceremony that with the establishment of the designated agency, Taiwan has officially entered the HTA era. As relevant capacity grows, we look forward to establishing scientifically-backed health policies, implementing innovative applications of medical technologies, improving the health, welfare, and healthcare quality for all citizens, and fulfilling the government’s commitment to improve public health.
The NHIA Director General Chung-Liang Shih said that with the partnership network, the NHIA and the CHAPTA will have more exchange with international organizations in the future. The foundation of NHI payment policy will be reinforced with more scientific evidence and value. In the future, the patients’ best interests will be the center of all concerns ,and the inclusion of new drugs shall speed up to relieve financial burdens for the patients and ensure equity and fairness in healthcare.
The establishment of CHAPTA is a significant milestone in deepening Taiwan’s HTA policy. In the future, the CHAPTA endeavors to live up to its role as a non-departmental public body dedicated to HTA. The CHAPTA shall continue developing HTA technologies and training professionals to establish a NHI drug inclusion framework based on values and cost-effectiveness and be the strongest support for the NHI program.