Sources on Capitol Hill have informed Capitol Confidential that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will indeed begin rationing late-stage cancer drugs. The FDA will make an 11am (EDT) announcement that it will begin denying Avastin to breast cancer patients but will graciously offer the creator of the drug a final show trial of a hearing in 60 days.
The FDA will be judge, jury and executioner. Unfortunately, the victims of breast cancer will be the ones punished and harmed.
The FDA has never before limited access to a drug based upon cost considerations. Yet there are some within the agency that are intent on breaking new ground to justify a rationing regime designed to drive down the cost of health care. Avastin is the test case. There is no evidence that the pending show trial will temper their enthusiasm for thie rationing scheme.
In essence, the Avastin decision is the first battle in ObamaCare. Opponents of ObamaCare warned of the implications of a government take-over of our health care system — first and foremost was rationing. And that is what has happened.
The pending FDA show trial is designed to provide political cover so America can take the final leap toward denying women, seniors and the sick access to the drugs and treatments they do desperately need to survive. Josh Turnage, whose mother has been fighting breast cancer has eloquently described what this issue is all about when he wrote
“Since January 2009, my mom has been on an Avastin-only regiment. And she is cancer-free. Given that it helped save my mom’s life, you can imagine how upset I was to hear that Avastin might lose its FDA approval for treating breast cancer. How could this happen?”
The time has come for Congress to intervene and prevent the Avastin rationing regime from becoming commonplace. Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee should kick off a inquiry into the FDA’s use of cost in the deliberations of the decision. The House Appropriations Committee needs to limit the funding of the FDA to prevent them from implementing ObamaCare by proxy.
Republicans are talking a good game about repealing ObamaCare but the battle has now truly been joined and it is a fight we cannot afford to lose.
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