Human Rights Commission: "A System for Rapid Health Insurance Listing of Life-Saving New Drugs Must Be Established"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced on the 12th that it expressed the opinion to the Minister of Health and Welfare that a system should be established to allow new drugs directly related to life to be listed on the National Health Insurance more quickly.

The petitioner filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, stating that 'Kymriah,' a treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other diseases, has been excluded from the National Health Insurance coverage, and that the listing process has not proceeded swiftly, infringing on the rights to pursue happiness and life of victims who urgently need treatment.

Kymriah is an anticancer drug that has shown clear benefits in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a single administration. It is known that with one dose, 8 out of 10 patients with terminal acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 4 out of 10 patients with terminal lymphoma achieve long-term survival. However, Kymriah is an ultra-expensive new drug with a non-reimbursed price of about 460 million KRW in Korea. Although the National Health Insurance listing process is currently underway, it is expected to be completed around March next year.

Regarding this complaint, the Human Rights Commission's Committee on the Rights of the Child dismissed it, judging that the reimbursement criteria for specific treatments are a highly specialized area and that it is inappropriate for the Commission to investigate and decide on this matter. However, it recognized that the problem of new drugs, whose safety has already been verified and whose efficacy is directly related to life, being priced beyond what ordinary individuals can afford requires resolution at the national level. It also acknowledged the need to seriously consider the victims' voices calling for the rapid listing of such new drugs on the National Health Insurance from the perspective of guaranteeing fundamental rights such as the right to life and the pursuit of happiness of the people.

The Commission particularly noted that despite the development of medical technology leading to effective treatments with fewer side effects, it is problematic that low-income patients who cannot afford the drug prices do not benefit from new drugs and may die while waiting for National Health Insurance listing or become 'Medical Poor.' Therefore, it judged that the government needs to actively consider introducing a so-called 'Rapid Listing System for New Drugs Directly Related to Life on Health Insurance.' The Commission stated, "For new drugs directly related to life, it is necessary to establish related systems that allow patients to receive priority treatment at a temporary drug price covered by National Health Insurance immediately after approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the drug's market launch."