Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Huang Baorong: Suggests including heavy ion and proton therapy in the medical insurance coverage

Advanced radiation therapy techniques such as heavy ion and proton therapy are precise and efficient, suitable for difficult-to-treat tumors, and safer than traditional radiotherapy. China has promoted these technologies, but they are not covered by health insurance, resulting in high out-of-pocket costs for patients. Currently, the cost of large-scale radiation treatment devices like heavy ion and proton therapy for cancer is approaching that of traditional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and is much lower than the recent high-precision targeted drugs. These therapies have high cure rates, low side effects, and short treatment courses, significantly reducing subsequent medical expenses for complications, long-term rehabilitation, and care. They have a practical basis for insurance reimbursement under traditional photon radiotherapy standards. In response, Huang Baorong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, suggested: conduct systematic scientific evaluations to accurately assess their clinical and economic value and the capacity of the insurance fund; develop scientifically reasonable innovative payment mechanisms and implement fixed-amount reimbursements first; strengthen core technology research to drive industry development through insurance; improve industry support and talent training systems to ensure effective policy implementation. (CCTV)