Taiwan Pharmaceuticals - Mixed Progress on Standard

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002257 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO AIT/W AND EAP/RSP/TC STATE PASS USTR/DKATZ AND USTR/CWILSON USDOC FOR 4430/ITA/MAC SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON TW SUBJECT: Taiwan Pharmaceuticals - Mixed Progress on Standard Contracts REF: TAIPEI 1788 Summary -------------- 1.(SBU) In response to U.S. concerns about the lack of transparency in drug procurement by Taiwan hospitals, the Taiwan Executive Yuan (EY) has forwarded to the Legislative Yuan (LY) draft legislation that would require hospitals to use a common standard contract for pharmaceutical purchases. This standard contract would require full disclosure of the actual price and allow the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) to more accurately establish real transaction prices in their price surveys. The bill is opposed by the health care industry and local pharmaceutical firms, and with elections approaching, it is unlikely to become law before the end of the LY session. End summary. New Draft Law Good News for U.S. Pharma -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On September 5, the EY forwarded a number of proposed amendments to the National Health Insurance Law to the Legislative Yuan for consideration. In this package was a provision requiring hospitals and clinics to use a model standard contract for all drug purchases. This model contract would require all payments, rebates, incentives, and other financial considerations to be declared in the contract. The intent is to bring more transparency to the drug procurement process and allow BNHI to more accurately survey transaction prices and set reimbursement levels. Under the current system, hospitals benefit from a price gap, often called the "black hole," between the actual transaction price they pay for a drug and an often higher reimbursement price set by BNHI. This discrepancy can be because the reported price does not reflect rebates, hidden discounts or other financial considerations provided by the seller and not noted in the contract. ¶3. (SBU) The U.S. has advocated the implementation of a mandatory standard contract. Taiwan agreed in principle, but in the past has argued that it would take time. Instead, BNHI and the Department of Health have told AIT that they supported a phased-in approach to implementation, first seeking voluntary compliance. Strong Opposition by Local Health Care Industry -------------- -- ¶4. (U) Five days after the EY approved the draft amendment, Taiwan's five hospital and clinic associations--the Taiwan Hospitals Association, the Taiwan Medical Center Association, the ROC Regional Hospitals Associations, the Taiwan Regional Hospitals Association, and the Taiwan Private Medical Institute Association--publicly attacked the plan in a front-page ad in the United Daily News, one of Taiwan's largest-circulation Chinese-language newspapers. The associations charged that the proposal favored foreign pharmaceutical firms and other foreign interests at the expense of Taiwan's patients; could be in violation of the Taiwan constitution's protections of the principles of free and fair trade; and could put smaller and more remote community hospitals out of business by raising the price for drugs. Patients Might Like It, Though -------------- ¶5. (SBU) So far only one domestic interest group has come out in favor of mandatory standard contracts -- the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation (THRF),a patients' rights organization. THRF's spokeswoman Cyajing Chen told AIT that in their view the hospital industry should not reap large profits from writing drug prescriptions, and that since patients have the right to the best drugs available, physicians should not have an incentive to prescribe certain drugs based on profit margins for the hospitals. They believe that under the current system, patients--who lack the professional knowledge to know when one drug is less effective than another--are the only losers. BNHI to Sweeten SC Deal -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In response to opposition to the plan, BNHI has offered to sweeten the deal, offering an extra five percent bonus to hospitals using the standard contract. On September 11, International Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association CEO and Secretary General Carol Cheng told econoff BNHI Vice President Dr. SIPDIS Cheng-hua Lee will also encourage public hospitals to implement the standard contract voluntarily. BNHI had already received commitments from two of Taiwan's largest public hospitals - --Veterans Memorial and Tri-Services General-- to implement standard TAIPEI 00002257 002 OF 002 contracts. ¶7. (SBU) Cheng told econoff that if BNHI implements this policy at the same time that the Department of Health (DOH) announces the start of the new round of data collection for the next Price-Volume Survey (PVS)--which we expect will be in early 2008--the extra incentive may be enough to entice hospitals to take the deal regardless of the outcome of the standard-contract amendment in the LY. A Good Idea, but Not Now -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Dr. Chien-fang Tseng, Deputy Director-General of the DOH National Bureau of Controlled Drugs, called standard contracts a political hot-potato. She thinks that the LY will likely wait until after this winter's LY and presidential elections to consider changes to the national health insurance system. ¶9. (SBU) IRPMA's Cheng is also pessimistic about the proposed amendment's near-term chances for passage. If the EY sends the bill to the LY, she says, hospital associations and local drug manufacturers will try to mobilize friendly legislators to prevent the LY from voting on the amendment this term. Although IRPMA's lobbyists have been told the standard contract amendment will be a "priority" for the LY, the LY has identified 82 priority issues for the remaining months of the session, and since passing the central-government budget will take up the majority of the LY's time, IRPMA's LY contacts estimate that there will only be time to consider 5-10 non-budget amendments before the winter recess begins on December 31. [Note: The LY sends bills that it fails to vote on by the end of a term back to the EY. End note.] ¶10. (SBU) IRPMA told us that to have any chance to get this passed, AIT and other representative offices--together with Amcham, the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT),and perhaps local allies such as the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation--should push the Taiwan authorities and LY to keep the standard contract amendment as a single, stand-alone amendment and to make sure that it becomes one of the top-10 priority bills for this session. Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) This draft law is a positive step, as are BNHI's efforts to offer incentives to gain voluntary compliance and defuse opposition by local industry, and probably means that a standard contract provision will eventually become law, even if it is an uphill battle this session. AIT will continue to work with U.S. pharmaceutical firms, Amcham, and other foreign representative offices to push for passage of the bill. End comment.