China on Tuesday added 148 drugs to a list of medicines eligible for reimbursement under government-backed insurance plans, its latest move to ease the financial burden on Chinese patients.

The updated catalog, released by the National Healthcare Security Administration, includes 47 foreign drugs and 101 traditional Chinese medicines. Notable additions involve global names such as AstraZeneca’s Kombiglyze and Merck & Co’s Janumet, both treatments for diabetes.

Five of the medicines are for rare diseases, 36 for chronic diseases such as diabetes, and 38 for pediatric use.

At the same time, the authority removed 150 drugs from the reimbursable list, ones that have relatively lower clinical value or can be substituted with better alternatives, said Xiong Xianjun, director of the Medical Service Department at the insurance administration.

Read the full report on Caixin Global later today.

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)