Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is planning to expand eligibility for publicly funded HIV treatment for foreign nationals in 2026, though it has not released many details on how the expansion will work.
CDC Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said at a press event on Dec. 22 that subsidy regulations are being revised and eligibility for publicly funded treatment for foreign residents will be expanded.
Lo at the time said the expansion would initially prioritize foreign nationals holding permanent residency and those under 18, but he offered no other details.
When the CDC was asked later in the week about how many more foreign nationals would become eligible for publicly funded treatment, it said it was still assessing the potential impact and "has no clear figure yet."
Under the existing support program, the CDC covers costs for an HIV patient's first two years on medication, after which expenses are covered by the national health insurance (NHI) system.
As of late November, 36,494 Taiwanese nationals and 615 foreign nationals in Taiwan were living with HIV, according to a written response from the CDC to CNA on Friday.
Of the 615 foreign nationals, 343 were already covered under the national health insurance system, while the others have been on medication for less than two years and were not yet eligible for NHI coverage, though some have received financial help in other ways.
Patients are currently treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), commonly known as "cocktail therapy" combining at least two to three antiretroviral drugs, with monthly medication costs capped at under NT$13,200 (US$420).
At the Dec. 22 press conference, Lo said the enrollment quota for the publicly funded HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program will also be increased next year, to 9,500 people, from 8,000 in 2025.
The program, designed to prevent the incidence of HIV, is open to Taiwanese nationals and foreign spouses of Taiwanese who meet the criteria and are assessed by physicians, the CDC said.
Lo said Taiwan would record around 850 new HIV cases in 2025, the lowest level since 2003 and down about 11 percent to 12 percent from 2024, in part, he believed, because of the PrEP program.
