Abstract

I congratulate Dang et al on making several important points in their paper “Importance of Evidence-Based Health Insurance Reimbursement and Health Technology Assessment for Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Improved Access to Health in India.” I certainly agree on the importance of health technology assessment (HTA); however, with reference to the recommendation,“Make HTA mandatory for pharmaceutical industry and device industry. In addition to the safety and efficacy data, cost-effectiveness information also should be made compulsory prior to market approval. This will increase transparency in pricing of drugs and devices,” the current HTA framework in India, as Dang et al correctly pointed out, is in its infancy. There is currently only 1 government body in India, Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn), tasked with performing assessments, which may not be sufficient to enable every company to get a timely HTA performed for their drug/device/medical technology. The process may become time-consuming and delay approvals for companies. Companies do have the option of approaching private companies to get an HTA report, but doing so can be an expensive process, especially for start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises.