Buried in the recent Omnibus bill, is a provision that gives the FDA the authority to ban off-label use of medications. The idea was to quash the ability of physicians to prescribe ivermectin to patients infected with the coronavirus. If they banned all off-label use, then oncologists wouldn't be able to prescribe pembrolizumab like this doctor at OHSU. Of course, it wasn't covered by insurance. If it were FDA-approved, it probably would have. Then the patient would not have been able to receive this potentially beneficial agent. OHSU apparently thought it would be covered by insurance, and so, jacked up the price. Apparently this is common, according to a person at Johns Hopkins, mentioned in the article. This is a great argument for insurance to be owned by the patient, not an employer. Because employers can and are willing to pay money to put their employees on an expensive plan. Insurance companies are deep pockets and can cover expensive treatments. The same with government-sponsored insurance, like Medicare and Medicaid. Consumer-funded plans would be different, and insurance companies would have to be more judicious in their spending. I would predict that healthcare costs would decrease.
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