Breakthrough Drug That Cures Hepatitis C May Break Obamacare
WASHINGTON D.C. (Worthy News)– A new drug called Solvaldi, created by Gilead Sciences’, cures Hepatitis C, however it comes with a $84,000 price tag for a 12-week treatment course. With 3.2 million Americans who carry Hepatitis C, the drug could break Obamacare.
Expensive specialty drugs aren’t new to health care. But Sovaldi stands out because it is aimed at helping millions of Americans who carry hepatitis C, and a large share of those infected are low-income and qualify for government coverage. Its arrival also coincides with the aggressive expansion of Medicaid and private coverage under the Affordable Care Act, whose purpose was to extend health care to tens of millions Americans who previously couldn’t afford it.
Sovaldi has prompted fears among insurers and state officials that the breakthrough drug, despite its benefits, could explode their budgets. And that has sparked an urgent and highly sensitive debate in Medicaid offices across the country: How far should society go to make sure the poor get the best available treatments? — Source