How will hepatitis C drug affect health care spending?

Jun 25 2014

Elsewhere, pharmaceutical companies are upset over new rules for a drug discount program -- known as 340B.

The Wall Street Journal's Pharmalot: What Impact Will Hepatitis C Drugs Have on Medical Costs? Look Here
Just what impact will hepatitis C treatments have on medical spending over the next few years? The answer to this question has been the subject of heated debate thanks to the Sovaldi treatment sold by Gilead Sciences. The medication can cure 90 percent of the patients who have the most common form of the affliction, and costs $1,000 a day for a 12-week course, or $84,000 for one patient (Silverman, 6/24).

Kaiser Health News: Drug Discount Program Has Drugmakers Crying Foul
The law got bipartisan support and it was a boon for hospitals and the federal government. In the decades that followed, the drug discount program has grown in leaps and bounds. But this spring as the feds have been drawing up new rules for the program, a pitched battle has broken out between hospitals and drug manufacturers who say the program, known as 340B, is now bloated and badly regulated (Foden-Vencil, 6/23).

Additional, related KHN coverage: Drug Discount Policy For Hospitals, Clinics Under Scrutiny (Carey, 6/23).