Gilead’s Dispute With Insurers Leaves Doctors on Sidelines

Doctors caught in the middle of an escalating battle over U.S. drug prices are losing influence over their patients’ treatment even as they gain an opportunity to treat more people more affordably. Gilead’s drug was so expensive that many insurers were blocking coverage anyway, at least until patients were in advanced stages of the disease. AbbVie’s deal with Express Scripts lets doctors prescribe the drug at any time in the progression of hepatitis C, meaning more patients get access. For some physicians that trumps any concerns about the more complicated therapy.