Patient advocates on Tuesday blasted the Biden administration’s refusal to compel the manufacturer of a lifesaving prostate cancer drug developed entirely with public funds to lower its nearly $190,000 annual price tag. The drug’s development was 100% taxpayer-funded. Yet a one-year supply of Xtandi currently costs $189,800 in the United States.
Category Archive: Cost of healthcare in the U.S.
About two-thirds of HR people from organizations that offered wellness initiatives indicated these efforts were “somewhat effective” or “very effective” in reducing healthcare costs. The return on investment (ROI) related to employee wellness programs typically includes the overall healthcare cost-savings achieved and productivity increases due to reduced sick days employees take.
The Biden administration said it would penalize drugmakers for raising prices faster than inflation on 27 medications administered in doctors’ offices. Pfizer had the most drugs on the list, which includes AbbVie for its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira, as well as manufacturers Gilead, Endo, Leadiant Biosciences, and Kamada.
Nearly a quarter of Americans have medical debt, according to a LendingTree survey fielded earlier in 2022. These medical expenses are often unforeseen, which can be problematic for Americans without established emergency funds, with small credit card limits, or other roadblocks. However, Toledo, Ohio, passed a community-scale medical debt relief initiative in partnership with Lucas County.
Fewer than half of Americans rate the quality of U.S. health care as excellent or good. Only 12% say it is handled extremely or very well. Americans have similar views about health care for older adults. The public gives even lower marks for how prescription drug costs, the quality of care at nursing homes, and mental health care are handled, with just 6% or less saying those health services are done very well in the country. Can it ever be improved?
Americans are not happy with our healthcare and its costs. PBMs, insurers, hospitals, and prescription drugs all take their toll on a for-profit healthcare system that focuses on the balance sheets, not patients. Despite this, Americans still refuse to make the sacrifices needed to prevent chronic healthcare problems. There are no easy answers, but finally, Congress is set to tackle the rising costs.
A new study is changing everything, finding that obesity significantly increases a person’s risk of death. A researcher from CU Boulder warns that obesity raises a person’s risk of death by anywhere from 22 to a staggering 91 percent. And what are we doing about it? Nothing
U.S. senators called for Medicare to offer broad coverage of Alzheimer’s treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration, warning that current restrictions cost patients precious time as their disease progresses. They are asking the FDA to approve a drug based on hope, not science.