Column: Calculating patient’s ‘worth’ by simple formula is wrong
Is a person with a chronic illness less valuable than a healthy person? I realize this is an uncomfortable question, but as our elected officials and policy makers address the…
Preserve Hope and Access to Life-Saving Treatments
Hope is a powerful elixir. My family was dealt an unexpected blow nearly 26 years ago when our son Gunnar was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a debilitating genetic disease for…
Nothing Nice About ICER
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is emerging as a major player in the health care cost debate. The organization through its affiliates is holding public meetings focusing…
The Insurance Companies’ Latest Target: Specialty Drugs
Read the headlines these days and you’d think the health insurance companies are going broke. It’s true most insurers offering Obamacare are losing money on it. UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s largest…
Helping the Neediest Patients: Stopping Insurers’ Rejection of Prescription Medications
Are cancer drugs worth the cost? That’s the question a controversial Boston-based non-profit, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), convened about last week in St. Louis to discuss. The group,…
Cancer Patients Bring Urgent Voices of Value to St. Louis
Having just hosted the latest of a decades-long string of presidential debates, St. Louis is rightfully proud of serving as a setting for vital national conversations. On Oct. 20, the…
Oncologists Knock ICER’s Lung Cancer Cost-Effectiveness Review
Ahead of an ICER meeting to review evidence and vote on cost-effectiveness ratings for non-small cell lung cancer treatments, a group of oncologists is airing “serious concerns” about the organization’s…
Physicians, Patients Should ‘Reflectively Reject’ Coverage, Treatment Recommendations Based on ICER Myeloma Report
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit organization that assesses evidence on the value of medical treatments and tests, held its inaugural Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council…
Cost-Cutting Proposals Could Cost Life Spans
Concern over rising health care costs has led to some proposals that could be dangerous for cancer patients like myself. I’ve lived with multiple myeloma, a cancer of cells in…
When it Comes to Drug Pricing, it’s Time for Patients to Stand Up and Be Counted!
Recently, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), released a scoping document outlining its intentions to evaluate the cost effectiveness of drugs used to treat the autoimmune disease Rheumatoid…