Children's Hospitals Lose Some Drug Discounts
ROBERT PEAR
Published: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 5:18 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 5:18 a.m.
WASHINGTON — In an unintended consequence of the new health care law, drug companies have begun notifying children's hospitals around the country that they no longer qualify for large discounts on drugs used to treat rare medical conditions.
As a result, prices are going up for these specialized "orphan drugs," some of which are also used to treat more common conditions.
Over the last 18 years, Congress has required drug manufacturers to provide discounts to a variety of health care providers, including community health centers, AIDS clinics and hospitals that care for large numbers of low-income people.
Several years ago, Congress broadened the program to include children's hospitals. But this year Congress, in revising the drug discount program as part of the new health care law, blocked these hospitals from continuing to receive price cuts on orphan drugs intended for treatment of diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States.
Eugenics anyone?
Full article here: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101208/ZNYT04/12083007/2055/NEWS?Title=Children-x2019-s-Hospitals-Lose-Some-Drug-Discounts&tc=ar
Not neccessarily a bad thing. Now, maybe some companies will stop producing drugs that treat the symptoms only and will look for ways to actually kill these dieases. But then again they'd have to get past the money aspect. Which is more profitable, curing the diease or treating it?
True enough. But to rip even the treatment rug out from under folks out of the blue is really underhanded, imho. We needed to pass the bill so we could see what's in it. :-\