As President Trump tweets yet another promise to lower drug prices, a new analysis offers an example of what can happen when the federal government negotiates with manufacturers.
During a 12-month period ended November 2015, the Veterans Choice Program, which was created by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, paid a median price of $12,500 for a month’s supply of Harvoni, a hepatitis C drug sold by Gilead Sciences. Since most patients typically are treated for two to three months, the cost was closer to $25,000 to $37,500 per person, according to the analysis in Medical Care.
About the Author Reprints
I’m a Vietnam Vet and about to start this treatment I feel bad that these drugs are so inflated and we all pay the price. I may die without the drug so I thank all the taxpayers and condem the drug companies for their greed. Make a profit, but stop ripping off both sick and healthy people at the same time. As a conservative, I hate to say it, but maybe regulation is the answer.
Essentially therefore, the VA is “doing more [about prices] with less [ok, fewer]” – food for thought. That said, the law still has to change for Medicare to negotiate.