Chinese government incorporates national medical insurance almost 100 medicines for health problems
China has expanded its rare disease catalog to 207 conditions and has incorporated almost 100 medications for these diseases into its national medical insurance scheme. According to information released at the China Conference on Rare Diseases, the Chinese Medical Insurance Fund allocated 8.6 billion yuans (about $ 1.2 billion) to include drugs for rare diseases at 2024.
The amount represents approximately 7.7% of the total payments made by the fund in the period. The measures are part of a coordinated effort between Chinese government agencies to make drugs more affordable and at prices reduced to patients with rarer conditions.
The Asian country also developed its national collaboration network for diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, which currently has 419 medical institutions. At the same time, a rare diseases notification system that covers 1.15 billion people, with 1.64 million cases recorded so far, was established.
The initiative mainly benefits people who face difficulties in obtaining diagnosis and treatment. According to the Chinese government, rare diseases traditionally receive limited attention in the field of health due to low incidence, small populations of patients and high costs of research and development of treatments.
