No mystery here. The reason Harvoni is so difficult to access is cost, and it is a worldwide problem, not merely a US problem. Consider that the cost of a 24 week course of tx is the equivalent of the average US household income for ~ 4 years!! One course costs as much as the average house. That is the source of the problem and it is outrageous.
Rationing was unheard of when the tx was Interferon/Riba or even the first gen protease inhibitors. But I'm sure Pharma loves it when insurance companies take the heat--while Gilead comes to the rescue of the select few who can get approval by picking up their co-pay--all for a drug that costs a couple of hundred to manufacture. Profits are one thing but holding patients hostage is obscene.
Payers --all over the world--are stalling and rationing because the costs are too high. The free market system is supposed to correct this but the reality is that healthcare and pharma costs are out of control and entirely unsustainable in the long term.
Tig said
Oct 26, 2014
Have you considered the possibility of the delay being the result of the upcoming mid term US elections and the new ACA changes set to occur in January? I was just notified that my insurance plan is going to be cancelled before year's end. That makes 4 times this calendar year alone, that my insurance was cancelled because of changes brought on by the ACA/OBAMACARE legislation. Who knows what the reason is for all of these delays, but I guarantee you one thing, it has something to do with price...
Tig
Miss B said
Oct 26, 2014
It is absurd that the insurance companies are still deciding their criteria for approval for Harvoni. Sovaldi was approved almost a year ago & Gilead filed for approval for Harvoni 8 months ago & the approval decision was almost instantly scheduled for 10/10. It shouldn't have been any surprise. I actually think this is a planned stalling tactic.
darkstar said
Oct 25, 2014
It is amazing to me that my insurance is slow to provide Harvoni. In the past, FDA approved drug for an FDA approved indication where there are not any alternatives was a very simple situation. You could get the drug. There is no good reason for the availability to be stalled. However, in my case, there is a process of vetting the drug that will not change any of the facts. It will only make me wait. While I well understand the issues with cost of health care, the dumbing down of the process with non-physicians making critical decisions stinks. One of the statements that I received is that the delay will not hurt me....how does the non-physician who said this know.
No mystery here. The reason Harvoni is so difficult to access is cost, and it is a worldwide problem, not merely a US problem. Consider that the cost of a 24 week course of tx is the equivalent of the average US household income for ~ 4 years!! One course costs as much as the average house. That is the source of the problem and it is outrageous.
Rationing was unheard of when the tx was Interferon/Riba or even the first gen protease inhibitors. But I'm sure Pharma loves it when insurance companies take the heat--while Gilead comes to the rescue of the select few who can get approval by picking up their co-pay--all for a drug that costs a couple of hundred to manufacture. Profits are one thing but holding patients hostage is obscene.
Payers --all over the world--are stalling and rationing because the costs are too high. The free market system is supposed to correct this but the reality is that healthcare and pharma costs are out of control and entirely unsustainable in the long term.
Have you considered the possibility of the delay being the result of the upcoming mid term US elections and the new ACA changes set to occur in January? I was just notified that my insurance plan is going to be cancelled before year's end. That makes 4 times this calendar year alone, that my insurance was cancelled because of changes brought on by the ACA/OBAMACARE legislation. Who knows what the reason is for all of these delays, but I guarantee you one thing, it has something to do with price...
Tig
It is absurd that the insurance companies are still deciding their criteria for approval for Harvoni. Sovaldi was approved almost a year ago & Gilead filed for approval for Harvoni 8 months ago & the approval decision was almost instantly scheduled for 10/10. It shouldn't have been any surprise. I actually think this is a planned stalling tactic.
It is amazing to me that my insurance is slow to provide Harvoni. In the past, FDA approved drug for an FDA approved indication where there are not any alternatives was a very simple situation. You could get the drug. There is no good reason for the availability to be stalled. However, in my case, there is a process of vetting the drug that will not change any of the facts. It will only make me wait. While I well understand the issues with cost of health care, the dumbing down of the process with non-physicians making critical decisions stinks. One of the statements that I received is that the delay will not hurt me....how does the non-physician who said this know.
And yes, if not obvious, this does piss me off!!