In Washington, DC, if you want to release news so it doesn’t get much coverage, do it Friday afternoon. If you want to really stick it to the American people, do it after Election Day. Apparently, the Food and Drug Administration is following the playbook.
Late Friday, the FDA announced it had postponed for 90 days — and until after the Election — a decision whether to ration the later stage cancer drug Avastin based on cost. With poll numbers that 60 Plus rolled out earlier in the week this is not a shock.
For the first time, an FDA sub-panel used cost as a factor in consideration of drug approval — opening the door to rationing for Avastin and other cutting edge drugs. The American people reject rationing. They do not want doctor’s choices limited by cost — undermining the basic premise of ObamaCare and when drugs are rejected because of their price tag, that is rationing.
Senior citizens, women and breast cancer patients were given a short term reprive. We must ensure that the FDA doesn’t enact it’s own version of a lame duck session in December.