Anti-cancer drugs from 17 categories were included in the list of drugs covered by provincial health insurance in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, according to information from Heilongjiang Provincial Medical Security Bureau on Nov 11.

It is the first policy launched by the newly-established Heilongjiang Provincial Medical Security Bureau to improve residents’ access to medicines and reduce the financial burden on patients.

The new batch of anti-cancer drugs included in the health insurance directory includes 12 solid tumor drugs and five blood tumor drugs, used for combating lung cancer, kidney cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma and lymphoma.

The 17 drugs are all newly released drugs, with 10 of them listed after 2017; featuring high effectiveness and high clinical value. All of them are tumor-targeting therapeutic drugs that are in high demand in the province.

According to the new policy, patients buying the 17 categories of anti-cancer drugs will see discounts of around 56.7 percent on average.

The new policy will be rolled out in the province before Nov 20. After November, a total of 39 categories of anti-cancer drugs will be included in Heilongjiang’s medical insurance reimbursement system.

 Heilongjiang residents using a health care card to pay for medications in a hospital. [Photo/Chinanews.com]