[Reporter’s View] Specific healthcare plans are required

Yoon’s transition committee should present detailed healthcare plans that specifies President-elect Yoon’s healthcare pledge

President-elect Suk-Yeol Yoon’s transition committee has officially started working.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yoon’s transition committee has opted to separately establish a special committee for COVID-19 response and operate the healthcare sector through the subcommittee for social affairs, welfare and culture.

 

Therefore, policies on COVID-19 control, domestic health, and welfare, as well as pharmaceutical and bio-industry will be jointly established by the special COVID-19 committee and the social affairs, welfare, and culture.

 

subcommittee.

 

After the 20th presidential election ended with Yoon’s victory, the domestic healthcare and pharmaceutical-bio industry officials keenly eyed the composition and direction taken by Yoon’s transition committee, as it would become the basis of the next administration.

 

The policy guidelines that the special COVID-19 committee and the social affairs, welfare, and culture subcommittee establish will greatly affect the direction of work of those in the industry.

 

The return of the transition committee is special in that it is the first committee of its form in 10 years and that it works to identify the organization and function of the government and sets a policy base for the new government.

 

Therefore, the committee needs to prepare specific measures and plans for funding to realize the pledges that were made by Yoon.

 

The committees would need to design a more detailed action plan that goes beyond the implementation plan and fiscal measures that Yoon had set as a candidate to promote policies that minimize uncertainty.

 

The direction Yoon takes to implement his pledge acts as an important reference point for pharmaceutical companies in Korea and abroad in developing new drugs and devising business strategies.

 

The healthcare, pharmaceutical, and legal community all began to revisit Yoon's healthcare pledges while working to identify the transition committee’s direction of work in realizing Yoon’s pledges.

 

In addition, government affairs officials in every industry are also starting to work under the table to lead the policy operation direction of the next government to their benefit.

 

Therefore, the responsibility of the transition committee to devise a specific implementation plan for the inauguration of the next government has also grown.

 

Yoon had defined the current government's COVID-19 response measures as a failure and said that he will implement completely different disease control and prevention measures within 100 days of taking office.

 

Along with bold investments to promote the domestic biopharmaceutical industry, Yoon had pledged to prepare various mechanisms to strengthen patient access to relatively expensive innovative new drugs.

 

Based on the expansion of government R&D in the fields of vaccines, treatments, and advanced medical care, Yoon had also pledged to establish a Pharma-Bio Innovation Committee directly under the Prime Minister and promised to strengthen NHI coverage for disease, establish a separate severe disease fund, and industrialize non-face-to-face treatment.

 

Yoon’s transition committee needs to speed up its drawing up a concrete blueprint to bring the promised health care and biopharmaceutical pledges into reality.

 

Yoon’s fulfillment of his pledges will directly translate to the policy management score of the next government.

 

When and how the science-based COVID-19 management and control system, government R&D support for vaccine sovereignty and the establishment of the global vaccine hub, the establishment of a pharma-bio committee, and fostering key talents in the pharmaceutical and bio-industry, and job creation will be implemented or realized in the pharmaceutical and bio sector will be reflected in Yoon’s grades.

 

The committee will receive reports from each ministry until the 29th and then select the final list of tasks for the new administration for a public announcement in early May.

 

With the kick-off of the transition committee, Yoon’s administration has put to the test its ability to fulfill its pledges and manage state affairs.

 

Since his victory to the kick-off of the transition committee, Yoon had repeatedly stated that he “will not hide behind the public and staff, and will communicate sincerely with the public.” Therefore, expectations rise for the transition committee and on how it will present a clear vision to change and develop the paradigm of the healthcare and pharmaceutical, and bio-industry.