By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Whining About the Thousand-Dollar Pill
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Whining About the Thousand-Dollar Pill
Business

Whining About the Thousand-Dollar Pill

DavidEWilliams
DavidEWilliams
Share
4 Min Read
expensive medicine
SHARE

expensive medicineWhen I saw Paying for the Thousand-Dollar Pill, an anti-Sovaldi op-ed in the Wall Street Journalby the health plans’ head lobbyist, it brought back memories from my childhood when I toured the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC.

expensive medicineWhen I saw Paying for the Thousand-Dollar Pill, an anti-Sovaldi op-ed in the Wall Street Journalby the health plans’ head lobbyist, it brought back memories from my childhood when I toured the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC. The tour guide started off by showing us a wall with pictures of the 10 most wanted fugitives in the country and asked for our help in tracking them down.

“If that’s their plan for catching these guys,” my dad whispered to me, “we’re in more trouble than I thought.”

The author, Karen Ignagni, complains that the prices charged for new drugs like Sovaldi don’t “reflect the cost of investment.” She worries that the government is giving drugs a monopoly through the patent system. And she fears that her cries for “transparency in the relationship between the price of a drug and the cost of its development” will lead to allegations of “price controls” –which the insurance industry doesn’t want. Boo hoo!

More Read

bundled payment for medical treatment
Initiating a Bundled Payment Project
Five Tips for Folding FDA’s New Medical App Oversight into Your Business Strategy
Lessons Learned: The Hard Way
Understanding the Medical Device Tax
June 23-24 OneMedForum New York

Rather than whining and complaining in the press, the insurance industry should do its job of containing costs and ensuring quality. The problem with Sovaldi, a novel drug that claims a high cure rate for Hepatitis C, is not that the per pill cost is $1000 or about $84,000 for a course of treatment. There are several drugs that cost a lot more than that and aren’t as effective against the diseases they target. The problem is that Hepatitis C is a common condition, and many, many cases that have accumulated over the years that can now be treated. That makes the total bill very high at least for the next couple years even though the total cost to the healthcare system as a whole may drop because there will be fewer transplants and fewer Hep C cases over time.

One way to deal with the problem Ignagni cites would be to move to a single payer system and global budgeting. Then the government could just dictate the price and be done with it. You don’t see the national health insurance systems in other countries quaking in their boots about Sovaldi. Instead, they’re negotiating prices and limiting the treatment to those with severe disease. Once competitors enter the market, access is likely to be expanded.

Clearly the US health insurance industry doesn’t want to put itself out of business so I don’t expect Ignagni to cheerlead for single payer. But I would expect closer scrutiny of the clinical claims being made for Sovaldi, which are not as airtight as they are typically presented. Plans could take a harder line on price negotiations, encourage some patients to wait for treatment, and more publicly critique the evidence beyond Sovaldi.

Meanwhile, I think it’s great that companies that come out with novel, useful drugs can make a ton of money.

The health insurance industry shouldn’t come crying to me or the rest of the American public if they can’t figure things out.

photo: ★ spunkinator via photopin cc

TAGGED:pharma
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

Artificial IntelligenceBusinesseHealthMedical InnovationsTechnology

How Could AI Help Your Practice Evolve?

April 4, 2018

Small Business Coalition Launches National Anti-Reform Effort

May 24, 2011

Social Media and Healthcare: Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing

November 30, 2011

On Patenting Genes and Their Correlations: It’s a Chicken-Egg Problem

August 27, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?