I agree - how do they justify $8000 a month??? Unbelievable!!!
And most likely the research that resulted in the drug was done at the expense of the taxpayers via the NIH.
Socialize the costs, privatize the profits. What a plan!
My mother is on a targeted therapy for stage IV lung cancer. The drug is given orally and therefore covered under Medicare part D rather than Medicare part B as her chemo was.
The prescription is $4,000 per month. I thought that was shocking too until I did some research. It cost the company that developed the drug $1 billion to develop it and bring it to market. Unlike a drug that has a wide potential market (think Nexxium for heartburn—anyone is a potential user), this drug is only approved for treatment in advanced Lung Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer. A very small market and not every patient with those diseases will survive long enough to get this drug.
Still $4,000 per month is steep. But when I checked my mom’s Medicare statement I discovered that the chemo she had been off and on for three years was $10,000 a treatment—and she was getting that every three weeks. So by comparison, the $4,000 per month is a bargain, but Medicare won’t classify it as a chemo, because she takes the drug by mouth.
Mom and Dad are retired and cannot afford $4,000 per month. Good thing they have a Medicare part D plan. This drug is considered tier IV so initially Medicare pays 2/3 and Mom pays 1/3 until she hits the doughnut hole (which is in the second month for this drug). Her co-pay ended up being about $1,500 for January and about $2,700 for Feburary. After that she was through the doughnut hole and will pay about $200.00 per month for the rest of the year. Better, but those initial co-payments place the drug out fo reach.
But that is still not the end of the story. The manufactuer provides grants to Seniors (actually anyone)who cannot afford their co-pays. Total actual monthly cost for the drug? $25.00
For mom, it is really the evil drug company that is making it possible for her to afford to take this drug. And the drug is working wonders. She is full of energy, feels great and is living her life. Three months ago she was coughing all the time and rapidly growing weaker. I’m not sure she would still be with us but for this expensive drug.
My fears: first that Obama care is going to deny treatment for anyone with a Stage IV cancer. The comparative effectiveness research panels will look at drugs like the one my mother is on and decide they are not worth the expense. Second that they are going to place such a burden on drug manufacturers that they will slow down or cease drug development for cancer treatments. Third, that it will be almost impossible for Medicare patients to see doctors on a timely basis because so many physicians will stop accepting Medicare patients.