Price of methadone reduced by half in Dehong prefecture, China

Work by methadone providers, patients and their allies have secured a 50 percent price reduction for medicine in Dehong prefecture.

After a pilot effort demonstrating that patient retention was improved by cutting the price of methadone and using peer counselors to support treatment adherence, the rural health insurance scheme in Dehong has agreed to defray half the costs, with additional price reductions to poor patients available from the local CDC office.

Decrease in treatment price has meant increases in both patient retention and new patient enrollment.

For more information on this work, please contact Sarah Evans at the Open Society Foundations.

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