NYT: Cancer Drugs Face Funds Cut in a Bush Plan

[LauraK]

The Bush administration will soon propose significant cuts in Medicare payments for cancer drugs, based on new data suggesting that the government pays far more than the market price for such medicines, administration officials said today.

The officials said they would also propose a modest increase in payments to doctors who give the drugs to patients in their offices. But, government documents show, the increased payments for medical services would be dwarfed by the cuts in payments to doctors for the drugs they buy.

In an interview tonight, Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said, "It is abundantly clear, from many studies and Congressional hearings, that we are significantly overpaying for outpatient drugs under Medicare."

More here

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Would never wish cancer on anyone

However, I could change my mind. But, of course, it wouldn't matter to * as he can buy any f***ing healthcare he wants, no insurance, Medicare needed.

What an evil, insensitive creep.

[GAspnes]

2. gee, if we only had single-payer

then the gov't could negotiate a lower price.

[Ramsey]

3. This has been a big hoopla

CMS claims that government is overpaying for chemo drugs because the wholesale pricing is inflated. Med Oncs are against the adjustment because the only way they recoup on the drugs is by charging for the product, as none of the ancillary services are adequately reimbursed (nursing, IV tubing, time spent with patient, time rooms taken up in clinic, etc.) So the drugs themselves may be somewhat overpriced, or at least on a strictly market level could be sold cheaper, but if you were to line item every service associated with giving chemotherapy, the total price would be substantially more. CMS wants to cut the drug reimbursement based on their "overpriced" argument without compensating for the other costs.

Some Med Oncs are warning they will have to stop giving outpatient chemotherapy if these cuts go through, although its not clear to me if that is an exagerrated claim or not. I can tell you that chemo delivery is time consuming, nursing intensive and requires a lot of supportive care by nurses and doctors though. In other words, the price of the drugs in isolation is only part of the picture, as usual.

And Tom Scully is an ass, I don't trust him.

[shanti]

4. what a cold, cold SOB he is

is he human?

[jamesinca]

5. Here is what i don't get

Bush is saying that he does not want people to go to Canada to get the meds cheaper. bush is saying that hedoes not want the US Pharmacuticals to give a discount on meds because they have to make a profit also, Bush says that we are paying to much for chemo therapy. Another reason to gut the senior health benifits and make them all pay the same insurance prices as those with jobs and benifits. I wonder if he ever considered cuttingthe cost of the drugs to the people, maybe a little federal help?