Astonishing
A drug for high-risk pregnant women has cost about $10 to $20 per injection. Next week, the price shoots up to $1,500 a dose, meaning the total cost during a pregnancy could be as much as $30,000.
That's because the drug, a form of progesterone given as a weekly shot, has been made cheaply for years, mixed in special pharmacies that custom-compound treatments that are not federally approved.
But recently, KV Pharmaceutical of suburban St.Louis won government approval to exclusively sell the drug, known as Makena (Mah-KEE'-Nah). The March of Dimes and many obstetricians supported that because it means quality will be more consistent and it will be easier to get. NPR article here
This is, ah, startling. I get that KV Pharmaceutical wants to make a profit, but 1,490 dollars on a 10 dollar shot seems excessive.
Supposedly any uninsured woman with a household income under 100,000 will be able to get the drug at a reduced cost. Being very slightly acquainted with medical paperwork, I wonder how well that will work out.
I do see a quick solution here. KV Pharmaceutical didn't invent this drug. The government gave them a monopoly--probably before they mentioned how much they intended to charge. That monopoly should simply go away. Let the $1,500 shot compete with the $10 shot compounded by local pharmacies. If the consistent quality is really worth that much more, people will vote with their dollars.
That's because the drug, a form of progesterone given as a weekly shot, has been made cheaply for years, mixed in special pharmacies that custom-compound treatments that are not federally approved.
But recently, KV Pharmaceutical of suburban St.Louis won government approval to exclusively sell the drug, known as Makena (Mah-KEE'-Nah). The March of Dimes and many obstetricians supported that because it means quality will be more consistent and it will be easier to get. NPR article here
This is, ah, startling. I get that KV Pharmaceutical wants to make a profit, but 1,490 dollars on a 10 dollar shot seems excessive.
Supposedly any uninsured woman with a household income under 100,000 will be able to get the drug at a reduced cost. Being very slightly acquainted with medical paperwork, I wonder how well that will work out.
I do see a quick solution here. KV Pharmaceutical didn't invent this drug. The government gave them a monopoly--probably before they mentioned how much they intended to charge. That monopoly should simply go away. Let the $1,500 shot compete with the $10 shot compounded by local pharmacies. If the consistent quality is really worth that much more, people will vote with their dollars.