Healthcare update

Printing A Kidney: A Glimpse At The Future



Price of drug to prevent preemies jumps from $20 to $1,500 after FDA approval

The price of a drug used to delay birth in women at high risk of delivering prematurely is going to skyrocket following Food and Drug Administration approval of a prescription form of the product, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. 

Since 2003, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended that doctors offer the progesterone shots to high-risk women. But because there has not been a commercial product available, women have obtained the drug from so-called compounding pharmacies, which make it to order. The pharmacies have typically charged about $10 to $20 per shot for the drug, which is given weekly. 

Last month, however, the FDA approved a commercial form of the drug, called Makena, manufactured by K-V Pharmaceutical Co. of St. Louis. The company said Wednesday that the drug will be available for shipping March 14 and that it will cost $1,500 per dose. The company said, however, that it would establish a "comprehensive patient assistance program" to ensure that the drug was available to every woman who needs it.

Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care?

The Pentagon's Achilles' heel: Pentagon leaders complain that healthcare costs are 'eating the Defense Department alive.' But Congress is loath to act for fear of appearing to break faith with the troops.

The Pentagon currently spends more than $50 billion — about 10% of its base budget — on healthcare, an almost 300% increase over the last decade. These costs are projected to jump to $65 billion by fiscal year 2015. To put this in perspective, the department will spend more on healthcare this fiscal year than on the war in Iraq and will probably spend more on healthcare in 2015 than on the conflict in Afghanistan. 

It is not surprising that Pentagon leaders have complained that healthcare costs are "eating the Defense Department alive." Leaders from both parties agree. But Congress has been loath to take action for fear of appearing to break faith with the nation's troops. 

What do the Pentagon's healthcare billions buy? A plan called Tricare that covers both serving troops, their dependents and the 5 million Americans who qualify as military retirees — those who have spent at least 20 years in the services — and their dependents. (The Pentagon doesn't foot the bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare to those wounded in the service of their country. The VA is separately funded.)

Its the Institutions, Stupid! Why Comprehensive National Health Insurance Fails in America