Cancer has been at the top of the leading causes of death in Taiwan for 42 consecutive years. The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) strives to include effective cancer treatments in the NHI package to care for the patients while alleviating their economic burdens. Moreover, the package expansion helps the NHI program to stay in line with international guidelines and achieve optimal treatment benefits. Recently, the NHIA approved the inclusion of one new cancer drug and the extension of three cancer drug coverages, which translate to an investment of NT$1.6 billion in drug expenses benefitting around 3,085 patients.

Currently, international guidelines recommend the triplet treatment plan as the standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. The NHIA has approved the coverage of said triplet treatment plan for first-line and second-line treatments, two anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody drugs for second-line treatments, and a dual treatment plan for third-line treatments. However, to improve the treatment benefits for third-line treatments, new drugs containing elotuzumab are now included in the payment package to allow doctors to prescribe a triplet treatment plan combining elotuzumab with pomalidomide and dexamethasone.

Breast Cancer is the second most common cancer among female patients. Early-stage breast cancer is mainly treated with chemotherapy and hormonal therapy; targeted therapies are significantly effective for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. In response to the expectations of patients with early-stage breast cancer, the NHIA is taking initiatives to stay in line with international guidelines. Such initiatives include allowing the use of drugs containing trastuzumab emtansine in treating early-stage breast cancer, which effectively reduces the risk of death by 34%. In this way, the goal of early detection and early treatment can be achieved to improve healthcare quality for patients with breast cancer.

Considering that patients with prostate cancer require continual medication and clinical treatments, the NHI payment package is now extended to cover 36 months of treatment courses to ensure holistic and complete treatments. Additionally, drugs containing denosumab are now covered by the NHI to treat osteolytic bone metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, cervix cancer, ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, or pancreatic cancer to minimize skeletal-related events.

Taiwan is an endemic area of helicobacter pylori and stomach cancer. The NHI has loosened relevant payment restrictions for asymptomatic carriers to receive H. pylori eradication treatment. The treatment significantly reduces patients' risks of developing stomach cancer in the future. Conditions for patients to receive H. pylori eradication treatment under the NHI coverage changed from "patients diagnosed with peptic ulcer by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy or upper gastrointestinal x-ray examination" to "patients diagnosed with H. pylori infection by 13C-urea breath test, H. pylori stool antigen test, or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy biopsy" to enhance the treatment benefits for peptic ulcer. It is estimated to benefit around 52,000 patients every year with approximately NT$37 million invested in drug expenses.

To improve the quality of medical treatments for patients with cancer, the NHIA endeavors to keep the NHI program in line with international treatment guidelines and speed up the inclusion of new drugs as well as the expansion of relevant coverage schemes. The NHIA's goal is to maximize the benefits by properly allocating their limited resources to ensure optimal treatment opportunities and care for patients with cancer.