Friday, March 11, 2016

Insurers, Academics Protest High-Cost Drugs, Propose Solutions

Insurers, Academics Protest High-Cost Drugs, Propose Solutions
by Shannon Firth
Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON -- Insurers and academics berated pharmaceutical companies for jacking up drug prices and suggested ways to alleviate the problem at the America's Health Insurance Plans National Health Policy Conference on Wednesday.

Much of the growth is due to a shift in prescribing higher cost drugs and price increases on existing drugs.

Diane Holder, president of UPMC Insurance Services Division in Pittsburgh, spoke of a friend and colleague who has hepatitis C but is not covered for expensive new curative treatments such as Sovaldi or Viekira Pak. The friend told Holder she was considering mortgaging her house to pay for drugs out-of-pocket.

Holder said she thought to herself, "It's just wrong ... there's a cure" for the disease.

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