The cancer drug Avastin has become ground zero in the debate of the future of our health care system. Will drugs and treatments be rationed under a government-run system? Will patients have the same access and options as they do under our current plan? Will patients be subject to a “cost-benefit” analysis by government bureaucrats – like in other countries — when deciding what drugs the government will cover and what drugs they won’t?
Recent actions by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “de-label” the late stage cancer drug raise these and other issues critical to the future of our health care system. The FDA proposal would essentially allow Medicare and other insurance plans, including private ones – to tell patients they will need to cover the cost of the treatment on their own. There would no longer be an obligation to pay for treatment. If you want Avastin as an option in your efforts to fight breast cancer, you would have to pay for it. And what if you cannot afford the estimated $80,000 a year for treatment? The FDA won’t answer that question.
The maker of the drug has petitioned the FDA for a hearing on their actions and have yet to be granted even the ability to make their case. But they have strong advocates in their corner, including a number of influential patient advocacy groups that fear the FDA’s decision will limit patient and doctors choices in the future.
Among those that have critically weighed in against the FDA include the Susan Komen Foundation, Cancer101, the Colon Cancer Alliance and the Cancer Support Community. They understand the stakes and see the decision as a critical precedent that will change our health care system dramatically – and not for the better — if the FDA moves forward.
Kim Thiboldeaux, the president and CEO of the Cancer Support Community, summed up the threat of the FDA’s actions when she the decision would have a “tremendous impact on reimbursement. We feel strongly that treatment decisions should be a joint decision between a women living with treatment and her treatment team…Limiting the already scarce range of treatment options for women with metastatic breast cancer would have a devastating impact.”
Congress can continue to debate the effects of ObamaCare on the budget. But the true impact will be on patients who will see choices and options limited should the law and it’s rationing mandate move forward. Women with cancer need champions in both parties willing to stand up and be counted on this issue. Time is critical – just ask a survivor.
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