Posted on 07/20/2011 8:47:09 PM PDT by Clairity
Drugs that slow progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) offer health gains to some at very high prices, a new study shows.
The study seems likely to reignite the national debate about how best to rein in runaway health care costs. It found that adding an injectable disease-modifying drug to the treatment of MS patients roughly doubles the cost of care, while only providing small population-level improvements in survival and quality of life.
Doctors who were not involved in the study were alarmed by its findings.
"We know, unequivocally, that these drugs slow the progression of the disease and slow the course of the disease," says Karen Blitz-Shabbir, MD, director of multiple sclerosis care center at North Shore-LIJ Glen Cove Hospital in New York.
"When I first started training, people were hospitalized all the time and did much worse than they do now," she says, "So we know for sure these drugs are good."
(Excerpt) Read more at webmd.com ...
Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis have some benefits but can be prohibitively pricey
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-ms-drugs-20110720,0,3636799.story
“It’s not enough to bring a new medication to market — the cost-effectiveness of the drug must be considered as well. A study finds there is a high price for some drugs used to treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis compared with medications that treat other chronic diseases.”
Note the “prohibitively” part especially.
That is the whole idea of INSURANCE — nobody knows what diseases they may get or accidents that can happen. That is why they have a pool of insureds of all types. It may or may not happen to any one person, but if it does, you are supposed to be covered and treated.
But if government is the one insuring you — as in obamacare, the most “cost-effective” thing is to NOT treat you, just go away and die quietly.
NAZI agenda. Get rid of defectives. Bastrds.
Ah yes! But we must require insurance companies to provide free birth control and HIV tests.
“That is the whole idea of INSURANCE — nobody knows what diseases they may get or accidents that can happen.”
Insurance involves coverage for catastrophic events. Medical insurance however has evolved into a combination of insurance, warranty, and income redistribution. Given the aging population, even insurance is difficult to provide. The idea that someone else should pay for your routine medical care puts the idea of insurance at grave risk. A warranty is prepaid maintenance. However, medical insurance has evoled into someone else paying for your routine care. Warranties rarely cover routine maintenance such as oil changes. Medical insurance is burdened with incredible levels of routine care now extended with the principle that no copays can be required for routine preventative care including birth control.
Our medical system will collapse from the weight of excess demand, price controls, and government rationing schemes. I think that you will need to find care outside of the government scheme to get competent care. I think that Indian reservations may provide a haven for private care outside of the government system.
It may help a few now but many in the future as the drug is perfected....MS is not an orphan disease, it affects many..
My son (11yrs old at the time) was diagnosed with MS. It specifically targeted his optic nerves. We were referred to a specialist who took a special interest in our son. He recommended a chemo treatment that was rather experimental for MS treatment. My son is now 16, and MS is in remission. He takes no drugs, and has had MRIs quarterly to monitor. No new lesions. We thank God every day.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0706383
“”We know, unequivocally, that these drugs slow the progression of the disease and slow the course of the disease,” says Karen Blitz-Shabbir, MD, director of multiple sclerosis care center at North Shore-LIJ Glen Cove Hospital in New York. “
They don’t say the drug is not effective enough, it’s just not “COST-effective”, i.e. the patients aren’t worthy of the money spent on them, to help slow the progression of the disease and increase the quality of their lives.
I thought I read about a year ago that the UK was experminting with a new stem cell treatment. Some of the patients bone marrow is saved and “treated/augmented”, the rest is nuked via chemo. The new bone marrow is reinserted.
...by the way, I completely agree with your assessment of health insurance. To your point, I don’t make a claim on my home-owners insurance when I need to paint my house. HSA’s and catastrophic coverage is my approach.
My mother had bowel problems all her life and slightly dragged one foot, but it never stopped her, she just kept on truckin....I was 8 when she was diagnosed, they told her she would be in a wheel chair within 10 years...She died of multiple myeloma and the cancer spread to her spinal cord, that is what finally put her in a wheel chair the last few years of her life...
“HSA’s and catastrophic coverage is my approach.’
I think Obamacare mandates the coverages that insurance companies must offer and people must buy, I think offering catastrophic coverage will not be allowed — that is what makes the prices go up. You have to buy a gold plated plan or nothing.
Consider this:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/neurological-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/
Also please consider low dose Naltrexone which has shown very good clinical results:
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_ms.htm
Regards,
Lurking’
it always costs more in the US than other counties
why is that?
the US always gets ripped off.
am I the only one who doesn’t like that?
FDA is the reason drugs cost so much in the US. The FDA mandates huge investments to satisfy their requirements for excessive amount of studies and data, and the length of time it takes to approve a drug.
Thanks Ryt!
Sorry for the late response. We have learned a lot about D and sun exposure. Living up in WI limits our sun exposure a bit. Our kids are outside a lot, but not as much during winter. We all take D year-around. My wife wonders if her low D during pregnancy also predisposed our kids. Fish oils are good for this too. Eskimos seem healthy!
My layman’s take on this (from talking to specialists) is that the order in which a person receives antibodies (natural or vaccination) can trigger one of the autoimmune diseases. The thought is that if you wipe out all B cells (history of your antibody acquisition), that you start completely over. The likelihood of the same order is very low. We’ll see...
“I think offering catastrophic coverage will not be allowed”
Catastrophic-only policies will only be allowed for those under age 30.
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