As the most innovative drugs enter the medical insurance catalogue
HIV-infected people have more drug use choices
China Voice Online, December 1, December 1 is World AIDS Day. This year, the theme of my country’s World AIDS Day promotional activities is “Fighting AIDS and Sharing Health”. We ask everyone to join forces to face the risks and challenges posed by the AIDS epidemic and we support the whole of society to build, govern and share together. Today, with more innovative drugs entering the list of medical insurance, people infected with HIV have more choices of drugs and their lives are slowly changing.
Case: The virus is well controlled and the quality of life has improved
“My life once lost its light.” Zhao Liang (pseudonym), 44, is an HIV positive person and now works in a logistics company in Changsha.
14 years ago, Zhao Liang, who was engaged in hairdressing, started a business with his friends in Wenzhou, they often went to some entertainment venues and occasionally had high-risk sex. After a party, a friend reminded him that someone close to him had AIDS. Zhao Liang was amazed and mustered up the courage to enter the local CDC, where he was confirmed positive after examination.
As the only child in the family, his father urged the marriage, hoping to reunite with his grandson as soon as possible. Zhao Liang knew that because of his leniency, everything was ruined.
Zhao Liang left Wenzhou for Changsha and started taking antiviral drugs. “The side effects are very serious. There are red rashes all over the body. I can’t sleep all night, vomiting, and have no appetite. I have lost more than 10 kittens in six months.” In the spring of 2017, Zhao Liang he resigned from his job in Changsha and was having suicidal thoughts at the time.
“When I went upstairs, I met the landlord and the old lady warmly invited me to warm up.” The old man’s kindness and concern encouraged Zhao Liang to find another job. “I used to get free medicine and after a long time I became resistant.” Zhao Liang said that he now has a stable job and a decent income. Starting in 2021, he will be taking innovative medicines reimbursed by medical insurance under doctors’ advice and side effects have been significantly reduced. , The quality of life has also improved.
On December 1, Zhao Liang, who was interviewed by reporters, choked up and said: Fortunately, the virus is currently under control, and life can go on day after day.
Improvement: HIV-infected people have more choices of medications
“In the beginning, AIDS medicines were very expensive and many people couldn’t afford them.” Zheng Yuhuang, known as the first person to cure AIDS in Hunan, is the chief physician of the AIDS Research Bureau of Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University. He told reporters that with the introduction of my country’s “Four Faces One Care” policy and the emergence of free medicines, many people infected with HIV survived.
In order to enable domestic HIV-infected people to use and afford good drugs, under the multi-party cooperation of government and enterprises, the price of imported innovative HIV antiviral drugs has been continuously reduced. Many of these varieties have been included in the national medical insurance catalog. After the medical insurance is reimbursed, the cost paid by the patient will be reduced to 100 yuan.
In 2021, three new HIV antiviral drugs were added to the national medical insurance list, including Biktarizumab, Lamivudine, Dolutegravir and Einovirine. At present, my country’s HIV antiviral treatment has a tiered payment system that combines free treatment + medical insurance payment + self-payment, covering free drugs such as tenofovir (TDF), lamivudine, efavirenz, medical insurance For example, Icoen Bingti Tablets, Biktarizol Tablets and many other self-financed drugs have met the different treatment needs of infected patients.
Taking the city of Changsha as an example, the innovative HIV drug Biktarvy Tablets was recently included in the medical insurance this year. The reporter learned from the medical insurance department that after the drug entered the medical insurance, the price was adjusted from 3680 yuan per box to 1125 yuan per box. Currently, the Biktarizol tablet medical insurance reimbursement policy has been implemented in Changsha, with a maximum reimbursement of 70%.
Data: Overall, the AIDS epidemic in Hunan is at a low level
The reporter learned from the Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention on December 1 that the first infected person was reported in Hunan Province in 1992. As of October 31, 2022, there were 53,030 survivors of the disease in the province. HIV/AIDS, including 23,353 AIDS patients cases. From January to October 2022, 5463 new HIV/AIDS cases (including 1367 AIDS cases) were newly discovered, a decrease of 8.15% from the same period last year.
The AIDS epidemic in our province is basically consistent with the national epidemic situation, and the overall epidemic level is at a low level. However, the epidemic situation is relatively serious, some cases have been discovered late, and there are still a number of infected people who have not been discovered. The main route of transmission is sexual transmission, heterosexual transmission accounts for about 78%, homosexual transmission accounts for about 17%, and heterosexual transmission is dominated by nonmarital sexual contact. Intravenous drug transmission and mother-to-child transmission are basically controlled, and the transmission of collection and supply of blood and blood products is effectively controlled.
What needs to be vigilant is that the number of people aged 50 and over among those infected continues to increase, and the percentage of surviving cases is close to half. Among the new cases discovered in Changsha, the proportion of homosexual transmission exceeds that of heterosexual transmission.
■ All media reporters Li Qi
