Biotech drugs and arthritis
2010-06-14
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Biotech drugs and arthritis
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2010-06-14
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Welcome to Public Health Moment from the University of Minnesota. Biotech drugs used to treat people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis cost as much as 10 times more than conventional medicine. But often they are also more effective. But a new study shows that arthritis sufferers are less likely to use these more powerful drugs if their health insurance provider requires a higher co-pay to purchase them. University of Minnesota health policy professor Pinar Karaca-Mandic, the study’s lead researcher, explains. <Karaca-Mandic: “Spending for these types of drugs – specialty drugs in general – is growing very rapidly. So, it’s understandable that benefit managers have to be more interested in monitoring and containing utilization of these drugs. The key question is how to do it.”> She says that health insurance companies need to establish more flexible guidelines that ensure that those who would truly benefit from the drugs can afford to take them. <Karaca-Mandic: “If high cost sharing across the board forces some of these people in need, in true need, away from the preferred therapies, then it may end up producing more complications and potentially overall higher health care costs. So, it’s really important to understand the effects of the benefits and to be able to target those at most risk. And once you identify those in real need, increasing patients’ out-of-pocket makes little sense.”> With another Public Health Moment, I’m John Finnegan.
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This resource is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect current scientific knowledge or medical recommendations.
This resource is provided for informational purposes only and may not reflect current scientific knowledge or medical recommendations.
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Finnegan, John; Pinar Karaca-Mandic. (2010). Biotech drugs and arthritis. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/257626.
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