Summary
With prescription drug prices costs from $12 billion in 1980 to $179 billion in 2003, the cost of health care is spiraling out of control. Unfortunately, this is causing insurance costs to soar and it is leading the government to consider cutting Medicare further in order to keep its costs under control. Thus, all the new wonder drugs designed through biotechnology may be too expensive for their own good.
Original source:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/health/3112008
Details
SAN FRANCISCO - In the two weeks since Genentech's expensive new drug Avastin was found to help the sickest lung cancer patients live a few months longer than expected, investors have pumped nearly $17 billion into the company.
But what's good for the patients, the company and its investors is also heavily stressing the health care system, raising uncomfortable questions about the cost of end-of-life care.
The average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage will be $14,565 in 2006, more than double what it was in 2001, forecasts the National Coalition on Health Care, an alliance of business, labor, religious and civic groups.
The ranks of the uninsured are rising as well, and lawmakers seek cuts to bring Medicare spending under control.
Much of the blame is being laid on prescription drugs, which have spiraled from $12 billion annually in 1980 to $179 billion in 2003, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.
Pricey new cancer drugs such as Avastin that help patients stay alive a few months more as well as dozens of other biotechnology drugs are more expensive to produce than traditional drugs because they are made from living cells, a new and radical departure from decades of manufacturing and regulatory practices that relied on well-known chemicals.
Some of the most costly drugs, like Avastin, are called "targeted therapies," because they attack cancerous cells while leaving healthy ones alone.
Dozens of such biotechnology-created cancer
drugs are in advanced stages of development and Avastin, priced at $4,400 a month to treat colon cancer, is not nearly the most expensive.
For the patients whose health insurance plans pay these astronomical costs, the drugs can seem heaven-sent.
Richard Lewis is 45, a father of four and a high school counselor in Colstrip, Mont.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, April 07, 2005
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