08.06.19
If someone is older, sicker or more disabled, should less value be placed on treating them? Most Americans would be repulsed by the very question. However, one organization is using questionable methodology to determine whether medical treatments are worth it or not for the people most desperately in need. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issues reports about what medications are and are not worthy of being covered by insurance. Unfortunately, ICER relies on arbitrary and unscientific…08.06.19
If someone is older, sicker or more disabled, should less value be placed on treating them? Most Americans would be repulsed by the very question. However, one organization is using questionable methodology to determine whether medical treatments are worth it or not for the people most desperately in need. The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review issues reports about what medications are and are not worthy of being covered by insurance. Unfortunately, ICER relies on arbitrary and unscientific methodology to…07.08.19
Millions of Americans are living with chronic illnesses and disabilities. In generations past, we did not live well or long with these conditions. Today, scientific advancement has ushered in more innovative therapies and technologies than ever before. Societal evolution has led to policies that have made navigating the world as someone living with one or more of these conditions progressively better. Cancer patients, for example, are living longer than ever before. They have more options…06.28.19
An article in The Pink Sheet highlighted the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC)’s involvement with Value Our Health — a new initiative supported by organizations representations patients and people with disabilities. The article highlights Value Our Health’s opposition to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s (ICER) use of the quality-adjusted-life-years (QALY) metric, nothing that the patients groups have long criticized the method as a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing the needs of patients. “It is disappointing that ICER…06.27.19
A coalition of patient advocates, provider groups and drug makers is criticizing the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review for using a metric they say discriminates against people with disabilities and chronic illness. ICER has responded to the criticism by saying it will include alternative, less controversial metrics in its cost-effectiveness reports. The metric at issue is the Quality-Adjusted Life-Year, which is a commonly used standard internationally to determine the cost-effectiveness of medical treatments, including…06.24.19
A Boston-based watchdog group uses a “one-size-fits-all” approach to determine fair prices for prescription drugs, a mind-set ill-suited for a growing wave of expensive medicines that treat rare diseases, according to a new report by a libertarian-leaning think tank.01.28.19
Pharmaceutical companies want to sell pharmaceuticals. Insurers want to keep per-member-per-month costs below monthly member premiums. Providers want to see their patients get access to care. Patients want to feel better and live longer. What would happen if multiple representatives from each of these groups were put in a room and asked what they value in terms of health services? Could we get past tensions from multiple perspectives, potential competing interests, or previous transgressions from…10.29.18
As policymakers around the world seek to manage rising drug expenditures, people with disabilities find ourselves increasingly concerned by the potential harms that cost-cutting measures may bring. The growing fight between health care purchasers and drug manufacturers offers yet another instance where people with disabilities and chronic conditions may find themselves caught in the cross-fire. CVS Caremark’s recently announced policy allowing self-insured employers to exclude new drugs from their formularies based on a flawed cost-effectiveness measure has…
