Editorial: ‘Fixing’ drug prices

Editorial: ‘Fixing’ drug prices
Herald Staff
Saturday, April 09, 2016

There is a breed of Massachusetts lawmaker who truly believes that there is a legislative solution to every problem

Yes, some life-saving drugs have started out being enormously expensive. Both the Health Policy Commission and Pioneer looked at the impact of the trailblazing drug Sovaldi, used to treat — and usually cure — hepatitis C, but at a cost of about $84,000 per course of treatment. The commission blamed the drug in part for a 13 percent hike in health care costs. But even at that price the drug was considered a bargain compared to, say, a liver transplant.

But, as Pioneer reported, when the federal government approved a second hep C treatment, the manufacturer of Sovaldi was forced

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