This story is based on two sources, a Washington Post article posted Monday, and an article by Ed Morrissey at Hot Air also posted Monday.
The Washington Post reports:
"Federal regulators are considering taking the highly unusual step of rescinding approval of a drug that patients with advanced breast cancer turn to as a last-ditch hope."
The drug in question is Avastin.
The article further states:
"Avastin was the first drug designed to fight cancer by blocking blood flow to tumors, which has been hailed as one of the first significant innovations in decades in the war on cancer. But Avastin is also one of the most expensive of a new generation of anti-cancer medications that only eke out a few extra months of life."
The article at Hot Air points out:
"With the new ObamaCare regime in place, the issue of cost has now become openly part of the FDA process. This is a perversion of their mission, which is supposed to only involve product safety and effectiveness, not bean-counting. If Medicare doesn't want to cover Avastin, that should be a separate issue handled by CMS and HHS. This strongly suggests that the FDA has become politicized to a degree where their recommendations lose credibility -- a dangerous situation for consumers and providers alike."
This is one of those articles that I can honestly say I have no idea what the right answer is. If you follow the link to the Hot Air article, you find the story of Leslie Twohig, 48, of Lothian, Md., who has been taking Avastin for eight months and credits the drug with helping her survive. How much is her life worth?
The only thing I can conclude is that I believe to take an expensive drug to extend a period of extreme suffering is not right, but to take an expensive drug to prolong a life that is functioning well makes sense. However, that is a personal opinion and I have no idea how it would work in a health insurance setting (particularly one run by the government).
It seems to me that when we take treatment decisions away from doctors and put them in the hands of government bureaucracies, we are moving away from quality healthcare--not toward improving the system.
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