Modern Healthcare October 17, 2019
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said Thursday that the healthcare system should encourage innovation, but that “innovation doesn’t mean anything” if people can’t afford and access new drugs and therapies.
Verma said that she’s worried about the cost and access challenges posed by curative therapies during a discussion panel about healthcare costs at the TIME 100 Health Summit in New York. Curative therapies upend the traditional paradigm of managing disease by curing them instead, but the treatments are costly and unavailable to many patients who could benefit from them.
“We’re seeing price tags now of $1 million, $2 million. That’s completely unsustainable for the system,” she said.
New direct-acting antiviral drugs for hepatitis C are a prime example. The treatments are...
Today's Sponsors
Today's Sponsor