Health experts are calling the government get pharmaceutical giants to slash the price of six cancer drugs after it was discovered that 200,000 patients could not afford their treatment.The drugs in question are Trastuzumab for breast cancer, Rituximab for cancer of the lymphatic system, Bevacizumab for colon cancer, Imatinib for leukaemia as well as Erlotinib and Gefitinib, the two drugs needed to treat lung cancer.
Since these drugs are not included in the national drug list, the country's three main national healthcare schemes, namely the National Health Security Office (NHSO), Social Security Office (SSO) and the Comptroller General Department's Civil Servant Medical Benefit (CSMB) cannot provide them for free. Hence, many patients face a greater risk because they cannot afford these drugs, Dr Pongsathorn Pokpermdee, an independent health economist, said.
He was speaking at a press conference yesterday to inform the public about inequalities in the system.
According to the Public Health Ministry's record from 2005 to 2009, cancer is a leading cause of death in Thailand. In 2009 alone, some 56,058 people succumbed to cancer.
The three national healthcare schemes offer different medical benefits to cancer patients. Under the CSMB, cancer patients are provided full coverage for treatment of the disease, while subscribers of SSO and NHSO have to pay for the medication themselves.
Pongsathorn said he found that Trastuzumab costs about Bt98,340 per injection, which means breastcancer patients need to pay about Bt1,180,080 per year for their medication. Those with lymphoma cancer need to pay Bt69,157 per injection of Rituximab or Bt829,884 per year. For patients with colon cancer, an injection of Bevacizumab would cost them Bt 21,602.50, or Bt1,036,920 per year. Leukaemia patients and those with stomach cancer have to pay Bt4,094 per tablet of Imatinib, and since they have to take one tablet a day, they will end up having to pay Bt1,494,310 per year.
Patients with lung cancer have to pay Bt3,086 per a pill of Erlotinib or Bt1,126,390 per year, in addition to Bt2,463 per tablet of Gefitinib, which would cost them Bt898,995 a year. Even though these two lung cancer drugs have been put on a special list to help patients, they have limited access to the drugs.
"It is horrible when patients find out that there are many drugs in the market that can save their lives, but that they cannot make it because they can't afford these drugs," Pongsathorn said.
If these three national healthcare schemes collaborate with each other to merge the management for cancer medical benefits and negotiate with drug makers to cut the drug price, cancer patients would have a better chance.
Previously, NHSO had tried to negotiate the cutting down of the price of Rituximab used to treat lymphoma cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, but the drug manufacturers had only agreed to cut the price down to Bt25,000.
THE NATION Issued date 19 June 2012
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