The High Cost of Hepatitis C Treatment

Article

The high cost of treating hepatitis C with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) has received a lot of attention in the literature.

The high cost of treating hepatitis C with sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) has received a lot of attention in the literature, with some cases attempting to justify the price and others offering suggestions on how to limit the drug’s use.

While I have no particular insight that provides a solution, this whole issue has driven me to ask a few questions, including:

  • Who should determine the cost of a drug product?
  • Should the price of the disease process play a role in determining a drug’s cost, or should it be based on the price to produce it?
  • Should the payer try to influence how the drug is used?
  • If society is the payer through a publicly funded program like Medicaid, should the restrictions in a drug’s use differ from an insurance program funded by the patients themselves? In other words, should the source of health care funding impact how a drug treatment is used?
  • When a program cannot afford to provide health care to all, how should the decision to ration care be made?

None of these questions are easy to resolve, but it appears they are being answered differently as patients and payers deal with the treatment of hepatitis C with Sovaldi. Is this just a foreshadowing of what’s ahead as we implement nationalized health care? I personally believe so.

Related Videos
Laboratory test tubes and solution with stethoscope background | Image Credit: Shutter2U - stock.adobe.com
Image credit: Andrea Izzotti
Inflation Reduction Act is shown using the text and the US flag - Image credit: Andrii | stock.adobe.com
Pharmacy Interior | Image Credit: Tyler Olson - stock.adobe.com
Male pharmacist selling medications at drugstore to a senior woman customer | Image Credit: Zamrznuti tonovi - stock.adobe.com
Pharmacist assists senior woman in buying medicine in pharmacy - Image credit: Drazen | stock.adobe.com
Pharmacy, medicine and senior woman consulting pharmacist on prescription. Healthcare, shopping and elderly female in consultation with medical worker for medication box, pills or product in store - Image credit: C Daniels/peopleimages.com | stock.adobe.com
Image credit: fidaolga - stock.adobe.com
Pharmacists checking inventory at hospital pharmacy- Image credit: Jacob Lund | stock.adobe.com
Young male pharmacist giving prescription medications to senior female customer in a pharmacy | Image Credit: Zamrznuti tonovi - stock.adobe.com
© 2023 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.