Proposal to add 129 new herbal and traditional medicines to health insurance coverage
With a new draft circular prepared by the Ministry of Health, the scope of the list of herbal and traditional medicines supported by health insurance is being expanded.
The Ministry of Health has published a new draft circular and submitted it for public consultation in order to expand the list of herbal medicines and traditional treatment methods covered under health insurance.
Draft Circular and Feedback Process
The Ministry of Health has prepared a draft circular covering herbal medicines, medical substances, and traditional medicines under health insurance, requesting feedback from relevant parties.
This newly prepared draft aims to significantly expand the list of medicines covered by the Health Insurance Fund and to determine reimbursement rates for each product.
Changes to the List of Herbal and Traditional Medicines
The current practice is based on Circular No. 05/2015 updated in 2020, which includes 229 herbal and traditional medicines and 349 traditional medical ingredients.
With the new draft regulation, the list of herbal and traditional medicines is expected to increase by 129 items, reaching a total of 358 items.
Updates to the Medicinal Herbs List
According to the regulations in the new draft circular, a slight decrease is foreseen in the list of medicinal herbs.
The number of traditional medicinal herbs, currently standing at 349, is planned to decrease by 5 items to 344 items in the new list.
New List Proposal for Combination Drugs
Within the scope of these developments, the Ministry of Health proposed the creation of an entirely new list consisting of 35 combination drugs containing both pharmaceutical ingredients and herbal extracts.
It is anticipated that the combination drugs in this proposed new group will also be covered by the Health Insurance Fund.