China's top medical insurance authorities are taking further measures to ensure the timely drop of the retail prices for cancer drugs, reports cctv.com.

The import tariffs on 28 drugs including all cancer drugs have been exempted by China starting from May 1, 2018.

Local people in Yunyang county, Chonqing Municipality register for treatment at a local hospital, April 2, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Some of the costly anti-cancer drugs including Herceptin, Ristova and Velcade were also incorporated in the catalogue for medical insurance reimbursement, according to the report.

For these cancer drugs, the State Medical Insurance Administration will organize specific procurement through bids.

In the meantime, Chinese authorities will speed up the approval process for more cancer treatment medicines to be added into the range of medical insurance system by negotiating with pharmaceutical companies, the report added.

It's been reported that the personal financial burden for medical treatment in China has been lowered by 12 percentage points since 2017, following another round of healthcare reform.