Medical bankruptcy is indefensible and even if patients are willing to bankrupt themselves to purchase a cure, doesn't mean that is how pricing and reimbursement of treatments should be handled, said Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, Quintiles Chair in Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Southern California
Medical bankruptcy is indefensible and even if patients are willing to bankrupt themselves to purchase a cure, doesn't mean that is how pricing and reimbursement of treatments should be handled, said Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, Quintiles Chair in Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation at the School of Pharmacy at the University of Southern California
Transcript (slightly modified)
What are the arguments for and against the notion that because people are willing to pay for a cure, that justifies the high price?
I think medical bankruptcy is indefensible from both an ethical and economic standpoint. The real issue here is that, it may well be the case, a patient who’s sick is willing, in that particular moment, to bankrupt herself for purchase of the care. But, that’s not really indicative of how we should handle pricing and reimbursement.
If they are so interested in bankrupting themselves, or so willing to bankrupt themselves, it also means that the insurance coverage is extremely valuable to them. So, we need to make sure that there is access to health insurance that is meaningful and in turn provides access to care. That’s the ultimate solution to medical bankruptcy because people do want to pay for healthcare when they’re sick, but it’s much more efficient, ethical, and practical, for us all to pay for healthcare in the form of health insurance premiums when we’re healthy.
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
Posters Characterize DMD Caregiver Experiences, Impact of Gene Therapy on Caregiving Demands
May 10th 2024Posters presented at the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research meeting explored Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caregiver experiences and gene therapy’s impact on work opportunities for caregivers.
Read More