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President Lai Ching-te<\/strong> recently proposed suspending drug price adjustments for three years, sparking heated discussion within the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. Lee Po-Chang<\/strong>, former Director-General of the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA), said he had already intended to abolish the system of annual drug price reductions\u2014the Drug Expenditure Target (DET)<\/strong> under the National Health Insurance program\u2014during his tenure. While lowering reimbursement prices may appear to save money for the NHI, he warned that it could push pharmaceutical companies into aggressive price competition, potentially leading to declining drug quality. In addition to ensuring reasonable drug prices, he also suggested that the government strengthen reporting mechanisms for unequal therapeutic effects among generic drugs<\/strong>, eliminating those that fail to meet efficacy standards and thereby further reducing pharmaceutical expenditures.<\/p>\n Lee explained that the original intention of the drug price adjustment mechanism was to keep pharmaceutical spending within 25% of the NHI global budget<\/strong>. However, as of last year, drug expenditures had reached 32.58% of the total NHI budget<\/strong>, showing a steady upward trend. Because there is often a gap between NHI reimbursement prices and actual market transaction prices, downward adjustments have been implemented. From the perspective of NHI resource management, such measures are reasonable, given that the NHI operates under a global budget system and must use its funds as efficiently as possible each year. However, he noted that intense market competition means pharmaceutical companies may lower prices while simultaneously cutting costs\u2014which could ultimately compromise drug quality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Lee stated, \u201cDuring my tenure as NHIA Director-General, I had already considered abolishing the DET system. Pharmaceutical companies should be given reasonable profits when appropriate.\u201d In addition to ensuring adequate profits for manufacturers, he emphasized the need to improve the quality of generic drugs. Currently, one major issue is insufficient manpower devoted to drug quality management. Although pharmaceutical companies must meet regulatory standards such as PIC\/S GMP certification<\/strong> when drugs are first approved, continuous downward adjustments in NHI reimbursement prices may push manufacturers to modify production processes over time, potentially affecting quality. \u201cIt\u2019s like children whose parents have no time to supervise them\u2014they become more prone to mischief,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Huang Yan-Ju<\/strong>, spokesperson for the Pharmacists Association, noted that suspending the Drug Expenditure Target (DET) price survey mechanism<\/strong> for three years could provide time for institutional review and adjustment. However, he emphasized that it is even more important during this period to comprehensively reassess Taiwan\u2019s pharmaceutical supply system and establish a more resilient drug supply framework to ensure that public access to medications is not disrupted by market fluctuations. He suggested that drug pricing reform should be integrated with broader \u201cpharmaceutical resilience\u201d policies<\/strong> to strengthen the stable supply of essential and commonly used medications.<\/p>\n