The United States has long had the highest prescription drug prices in the world — and that includes drugs used to treat cancer. These high prices lead to more spending on cancer drugs, and higher co-payments and deductibles for patients with cancer. The problem has been with us for a long time; almost two decades ago,
one of us
(Mark) coined the phrase
“financial toxicity”
to describe one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment. Since then, the problem has only gotten worse.
In 2022, in an attempt to lower the prices being paid for brand-name drugs,
Congress passed a law requiring
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to “
negotiate maximum prices for brand-name drugs that do not have other generic equivalents
and that account for the greatest Medicare spending.”
Read the rest…
— Source: STAT News (https://www.statnews.com/2026/03/03/medicare-drug-price-negotiation-program-cancer-doses/)
