One Of The Problems With Government-Controlled Medicine

On Friday, the Daily Caller posted an article explaining one of the hazards of government-controlled medicine. The specific example used in the article was the treatment of macular degeneration, something that affects the elderly and eventually can cause blindness.

The article states:

Regulators around the world continue to debate whether Lucentis or Avastin, a drug developed to treat cancer, should be the preferred treatment for patients suffering from wet age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.
 
Note: regulators are having this discussion–not patients and doctors.
 
The article explains:
 
Because AMD impacts older patients, many American seniors rely on Medicare to cover the cost of their treatments. This is the U.S. government’s underlying basis for involvement and whose authority falls under the new Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) established under the Affordable Care Act.
 
Thus the government is allowed to determine treatment for AMD. There are two drugs commonly used to treat AMD, Lucentis and Avastin. Lucentis is more expensive than Avastin, and Avastin tends to have more negative side effects. The company that manufactures both drugs has stated that generally Lucentis is the better choice for most patients. The point of the article is that due to cost considerations in Obamacare, patients may no longer be given a choice and may have to settle for the cheaper drug with possible serious side effects.
 
The article concludes:
 

An off-label drug may help one patient but not others. But overreaching regulators, with their one-size-fits-all ideology and focus on cost effectiveness rather than medical effectiveness, are a danger to every patient.

We need to remember in November who voted for ObamaCare and make sure they are retired from office. The ObamaCare bill hurts everyone who has a medical need.

 
 
 
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