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Together with Democratic Party Representative Lee Nak-yeon, they are all speaking at a conference on the status of development of corona treatments held at the National Assembly Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. News 1
Dangjeong decided to provide free treatment for Celltrion’s new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), which is likely to be released later this month. The Corona 19 vaccine, which is scheduled to be introduced next month, will also be distributed free of charge. It is natural for the government to take responsibility for the cost of treating infectious diseases on a large scale, but some worry that the burden on health insurance and national finances will increase.
Lee Nak-yeon, executive director of the Democratic Party, said on the 12th that “the Celltrion Corona 19 treatment, which will be released later this month, will be provided free of charge as a vaccine.” He added, “The price of the supply would be about 400,000 won, but getting treatment and leaving the hospital early can save the government money.”
◆ Celltrion treatment appears to be free
Celltrion is developing ‘Rekironaju (codename CP-P59)’, a Corona 19 antibody treatment. The Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety is currently in clinical trial phase 2 and plans to announce clinical results on the 13th. Yes here efficacy and safety are demonstrated, there is a chance that the approval process will be entered and approved immediately later this month. Since Rekironaju designed the phase 2 clinically similar to the phase 3 clinical trial, it is subject to “conditional approval”, which is quickly reviewed. Celltrion R&D Headquarters Kwon Ki-seong said: “We confirmed the effect of more antibody treatments than existing ones, such as Regeneron in Phase 2 of the clinical trial” at the treatment development status verification meeting. crown held in the National Assembly. The price of Rekirona is expected to be 400,000 won per dose, but the ruling party explained that it would not be a burden to patients.
The free Celltrion treatment supply is a scheduled procedure. A government official said, “For first-degree infectious diseases like Corona 19, it is a principle to pay the full cost of treatment with national health and finances,” and “Treatment with Celltrion is no exception.” Currently, there is no cost to patients for prescription COVID-19 treatments in the field, such as remdesivir and dexamethasone. However, the number of prescriptions for remdesivir is limited because it is administered only to critically ill patients who need oxygen therapy. So far, the number of prescriptions for remdesivir is about 3,100.
Rather, Celltrion aims to provide treatments to more than 100,000 people in Korea. Due to the large supply, there are observations that financial expenses, such as health insurance, can increase dramatically. Health Insurance Corporation estimates the cost of hospitalization and treatment for Corona 19 last year at approximately 290 billion won. Since the health insurance agency and national and local governments share the cost of treatment 8 to 2, the financial burden of medical care alone is expected to be around 230 billion won. If Celltrion treatments are widely prescribed, the financial burden for healthcare could increase.
However, it is also expected that the prescriptions for the Celltrion treatment will not be as many as expected. “Antibody treatments are mainly used for mild patients,” said Bae Ban-hwan, professor of infectious medicine at Boramae Hospital in Seoul. Regeneron, an antibody treatment drug, has also become popular in the United States, but the dose is known to be only 20% of supply.
◆ Concerns about health insurance and national financial insecurity
The problem is that the financial burden is not limited to COVID-19 treatment. The Corona 19 vaccine, which aims to inoculate the entire country, is representative. The costs related to the vaccine are primarily a purchase cost and an inoculation cost. The government has prepared a budget of 1.3 trillion won for the purchase, but the budget for the inoculation has not yet been secured. Some predict that the inoculation rate will reach 2 trillion won. △ In the national free vaccination program, such as influenza, the unit cost of vaccination, such as injection and examination fees, is 19,200 won, and △ Approximately 48 million people are eligible for the Corona 19 vaccine, and △ Most of the Corona 19 vaccine should be inoculated twice per person. .
In this regard, an official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance explained that “the government is involved in the general process of vaccination of the Corona 19 vaccine, and plans to lower the cost of vaccination.” However, because there are so many vaccination targets, there seems to be a limit to reducing the financial burden. That is why there is concern that unstable health and national finances could be further affected. Health insurance posted a deficit of 2,629.4 billion won in the first and third quarters of last year. It’s a massive deficit for the second year in a row after 2019 (2.8243 trillion won). The government’s fiscal strength is also deteriorating. The ratio of national debt to gross domestic product (GDP) soared from 37.7% in 2019 to 44.2% last year, and is expected to rise further to 47.8% this year.
Experts noted that the government has caused difficulties in financial management due to its focus on measures such as Moon Jae-in Care (measures to strengthen health insurance coverage) and emergency disaster support for the entire country. Kim Sang-bong, professor of economics at Hansung University, said: “From the beginning, we should have secured and executed the quarantine-related budget as the top priority, but there is one side that was relatively neglected due to the focus on measures. of patience “.
Reporter Seo Min-joon [email protected]
