The rising cost of specialty drugs to treat complex, chronic or life-threatening conditions has the potential to break the pocket books of businesses, consumers, insurance companies and the state, according to Milam Ford of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana.
ICYMI May 5, 2015 The New York Times: Runaway Drug Prices How companies set prices of specialty drugs for these and other complex diseases, like cancer and AIDS, has been a mystery to the patients who need them.” “The drug and biotech companies contend that high prices are justified to cover the large costs of bringing […]
April 28, 2015 Note: Distributing the New York Times article below is not an endorsement for President Obama’s proposed initiative. New York Times: Obama Proposes That Medicare Be Given the Right to Negotiate the Cost of Drugs “Five years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, drug prices are emerging again as a political issue. On a […]
This morning, the National Journal published an article regarding an increase in public concern over the high cost of prescription drugs. The article references CSRxP’s white paper, “Specialty Drug Hyperinflation: The Risk to Patients and the Health Care System.”
Reaction from National Coalition on Health Care President and CEO John Rother on key findings from the “Express Scripts 2014 Drug Trend Report.”
Will the cost of new hepatitis C treatments bust state budgets? A new analysis suggests many states may, in fact, be overwhelmed as they attempt to pay for the Solvaldi medication sold by Gilead Sciences GILD -0.41%, which costs $84,000 for each patient, and several forthcoming treatments that may be priced at a similar level.
The debate over the price of specialty drugs is intensifying and could well be the next major healthcare issue to dominate the national, even international, agenda. In a nutshell, how will society pay for breakthrough scientific innovation? Specialty drugs, complex therapies used to treat severe illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and Hepatitis C, are […]