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Cancer Pill Costs Soar as Drug Companies Retain Pricing Power
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Cancer Pill Costs Soar as Drug Companies Retain Pricing Power

Doctors have to act as financial planners to find treatment that patients can afford

David Crow
Financial Times, 2017
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Recommendation

Financial Times senior US business correspondent David Crow describes the cruel reality of the 25% of American cancer patients who find themselves forced to choose between the best treatments and the ones they can afford. The drug companies don’t accept responsibility, instead blaming insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers for not passing rebates on to patients. However, rebates don’t apply to cancer medications, and the price hikes are now so widely criticized that US president Donald Trump is threatening to intervene. getAbstract recommends this analysis to anyone who believes in affordable health care for all.

Summary

According to one study, roughly 25% of cancer patients in the United States have difficulty paying for their health care. Drug companies claim that insurance companies, employers and the government use pharmacy benefit managers to get large rebates off the “sticker price” of medications. Then, instead of passing these savings on to the patient, they pocket them. However, cancer pills are excluded from rebates, which normally reduce other drugs to two-thirds of their sticker price. Insurers accept inflated prices because there’s no alternative...

About the Author

David Crow is a senior US business correspondent for the Financial Times, covering telecoms, technology and pharmaceuticals.

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