How to check whether the price of Bedaquiline can be reimbursed?

Bedaquiline, a core drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), has been officially launched in China in recent years and has been included in the National Medical Insurance List as a Class B drug. This initiative provides important financial support to domestic MDR-TB patients, allowing patients to enjoy medical insurance reimbursement during treatment and reducing treatment costs. The common specification of bedaquiline in China is 100mg*24 tablets, with a retail price of about 10,000 yuan per box. It is particularly critical for patients to understand drug prices and reimbursement policies because MDR-TB treatment lasts a long time and drug costs account for a large proportion of overall treatment expenditures.

In clinical practice, reimbursement of bedaquiline also needs to meet specific conditions, that is, the patient must be diagnosed with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis and have evidence of drug-resistant strains detection, and the prescription issued by the doctor must comply with the specifications of national and local tuberculosis prevention and control projects. Therefore, when purchasing and using drugs, patients should choose formal medical institutions and complete the necessary approval and filing processes in accordance with regulations to ensure that the sources of drugs are legal, safe and reliable.

In overseas markets, the price of bedaquiline varies significantly. Taking Russia as an example, the price of each box of 100mg*188 tablets can reach 14,000 yuan, while the generic drugs of the same specifications produced by Indian pharmaceutical companies sell for more than 2,000 yuan per box. The emergence of overseas generic drugs has significantly reduced the cost of treatment, but they are generally not reimbursable through medical insurance in China. Domestic patients still need to rely on original drugs to use drugs and reduce their financial burden through medical insurance reimbursement. The implementation of medical insurance reimbursement policies will also vary slightly from region to region. Some provinces may have different payment ratios or critical illness co-ordination policies, which will affect the actual out-of-pocket amount of patients.

Reference materials:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedaquiline