How much is it going to cost? It’s a simple question that goes unuttered throughout the American health care system. It’s a taboo subject. But our failure to ask it costs us dearly, experts say. We approve drugs and devices without considering cost-effectiveness, or even having a clue about price. We don’t ask for estimates and then are surprised when the nation is stuck with a $2.7 trillion annual health care bill.
I know the drug industry doesn't like to advertise its patient assistance programs, but... ...come on NYTimes, that one sentence runs counter to the entire point of your article. Vertex has one for Kalydeco (The best cystic fibrosis treatment out there), Gilead has something similar for Sovaldi (Best for Hep C) and its other drugs. And, oh hey, Evzio ended up getting one too. Instead of shitting on the sticker cost of these treatments, how about doing some actual research into the payment breakdown of some of these drugs? What fraction of those medical costs are for pills, devices, infrastructure, physicians, nurses, techs, and administration? Talk about the changes in regulations that helped speed Gleevac through the FDA in the first place when Novartis's execs thought CML was too small a market to bother with. Look at the diseases whose pricing still doesn't work out after these acts. Discuss efforts in academia and non-profits to fill the gap in translation research... and the setbacks they faced. Offer alternatives to these problems (Longer patent life in exchange for smaller year to year profits?). But seriously, the $1,000 pill is a horse that's been beaten to death at this point.A week after winning F.D.A. approval Kaléo announced a $150 million debt-financing plan to support commercialization of Evzio, and its executives have said the company will have a patient-assistance program for those who could not afford the device.