"Preventing Shortage of Essential Medicines" Ministry of Health to Raise Prices of Pediatric Asthma Drugs

The government has decided to raise the prices of pediatric asthma medications as part of efforts to support the stable supply of essential medicines. Additionally, new insurance coverage will be applied to treatments for severe diseases such as neuromyelitis optica and endometrial cancer, reducing the financial burden on patients.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 23rd that, following deliberations by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, measures including insurance price increases and insurance coverage for severe disease treatments will be implemented starting December 1.

The insurance prices for inhalers containing the undifferentiated budesonide ingredient (Pulmicort, Pulmicort) used for pediatric asthma, which had unstable supply, will be raised from next month. Since there are no alternative drugs for children under 4 years old suffering from asthma, the plan is to ensure smooth supply through appropriate price compensation. Specifically, the reimbursement ceiling prices for Pulmicort and Pulmicort will be increased from 946 won to 1,121 won and from 1,000 won to 1,125 won, respectively. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has set a condition for the pharmaceutical companies producing pediatric asthma drugs to supply at least 26 million units over the next 13 months.

Furthermore, starting next month, six items including antibiotics and trace element preparations will be newly designated as delisting prevention drugs, and their ceiling prices will be raised to preserve their original costs. For six existing delisting prevention drugs, including steroid preparations and basic infusion solutions, ceiling prices will also be increased.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that from a health security perspective, for drugs with unstable supply, they will closely examine changes in supply volume, usage, and market inventory over the past 3 to 5 years, and if price adjustments are necessary, they will promptly raise prices proportionally to additional production volumes to minimize patient inconvenience.

Meanwhile, two new drugs for the treatment of progressive or metastatic endometrial cancer and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder will be newly listed for insurance coverage starting next month. The target for endometrial cancer treatment is set for patients undergoing platinum-based chemotherapy or those with recurrent or progressive endometrial cancer after treatment who meet specific genetic testing criteria.

With this health insurance coverage, it is expected that the annual medication cost for endometrial cancer patients will be reduced from 50 million won to 2.51 million won, and for neuromyelitis optica patients from 116 million won to 11.59 million won.

Lee Jung-kyu, Director of the Health Insurance Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, “Through this price increase, essential medicines will be stably supplied from a health security perspective, and the insurance coverage for severe disease treatments is expected to alleviate the burden on patients.”