A Wave of New Treatments, a Tsunami of Ultrahigh Prices
Charging more than $2 million for a single treatment was once unthinkable, but no more.
Charging more than $2 million for a single treatment was once unthinkable, but no more. Today’s gene therapies and other innovative medicines for rare diseases come with price tags that stagger the mind, and despite continuing public controversy over drug pricing, they’re not necessarily unfair.
Still, that leaves the question of how a health plan today can absorb even a single claim without looking like the misshapen boa constrictor in “The Little Prince” who famously — and visibly — had swallowed an elephant.
Related: When Drugs Became Ultra-Ultra Expensive
Below are just a few of the recent FDA-approved therapies with staggering price tags.
Source: FDA reports and news accounts.
Patients Express Concerns Over Costs, Risks of Gene Therapies for Sickle Cell Disease
December 12th 2024Research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology evaluated patient and caregiver perspectives on gene therapies for sickle cell disease, which offer great potential but have had slow uptake.
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Jack Linehan of Epstein Becker Green Discusses Drug Coupons, Accumulators
July 9th 2020In this week's episode of Tuning Into The C-Suite podcast, Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein has a conversation with John "Jack" Linehan, a lawyer for Epstein Becker Green, about coupons and accumulators. Jack is an expert on drug distribution and reimbursement, and few people know as much about coupons and accumulators as he does. Peter and Jack go over some of the basics, who is advantaged and disadvantaged, and then dive into some the details on CMS regulations and how recent proposed changes to Medicaid best price rules would, if finalized, affect coupons and accumulators.
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