Campaign for NHI to fund immunotherapy for head and neck cancer patients

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08/09/23

Doctors and patients are campaigning to get more public funding for treatments for head and neck cancer. Taiwan has the highest rate of head and neck cancer in the world. But many patients are not diagnosed until the cancer is at a late stage. That makes treatment harder. And the treatment with the best outcomes, immunotherapy, is expensive. Most people are not eligible to get National Health Insurance to cover immunotherapy. These campaigners say that should change.

Mr. Ho is in his 60s, and has fourth stage hypopharyngeal cancer. He’s received proton therapy and chemotherapy. The side effects of those treatments are tough, as is dealing with relapses and metastasis. The cancer only came under control when he came across immunotherapy.

Mr. Ho
Patient
I have had some immune dysfunctions in my skin, such as psoriasis. But that’s all. There are no other side effects.

Hsieh Meng-cheh
E-da Cancer Hospital
The latest research has found that immunotherapy is quite effective for head and neck cancers. Compared to the traditional chemotherapy and targeted therapy of the past, it has somewhat better results.

But immunotherapy fees can cost millions of NT dollars a year. The average patient can’t afford that. If you want to get National Health Insurance to cover it, immunotherapy is a Category 2 treatment, with many restrictions on eligibility. As many as 70% of patients who might want immunotherapy are not eligible for it on NHI.

Mr. Ho
Patient
We’re calling on the government to bring the agents used in immunotherapy into the NHI coverage to help patients with head and neck cancers to get some financial relief.

Lai Chi-ming
Formosa Cancer Foundation
We’re calling on the NHI Administration to overcome the barriers to coverage and provide this treatment as soon as possible so they can have better treatment sooner.

Statistics show that more than 10,000 people in Taiwan have had head or neck cancer. Some 8,000 people develop a head or neck cancer every year. Patients and doctors are campaigning for insurance to expand and give people support when they need it most.