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The News-Press 11
January 16, 2014
How much should we pay for medicines? At the tail end of last year the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug that may cure some three million Americans who have hepatitis C, a disease that interferes with liver function and can eventually lead to liver cancer. It’s a serious illness; many people don’t know they have it until the first symptoms show up years later, and those who do have it undergo grueling and sometimes ineffective treatments. So when Gilead Sciences, the manufacturer of sofosbuvir, which goes by the brand name Sovaldi, announced its new drug was ready for prime time, doctors who treat patients with the disease cheered. Results of clinical trials showed side effects appeared to be mild compared to those from conventional treatment and cure rates seemed to be high. A hepatitis expert at Johns Hopkins said, “This is about as hot as I’ve ever seen.” Stock analysts were ecstatic. One told the New York Times global sales — about 170 million people worldwide are infected — could surpass the sales record of $13 billion set by Lipitor, the statin used to treat high cholesterol. The press touted the good news, too, as it customarily does when a new wonder drug hits the market. And as it too often does, it gave short shrift to the price. Sovaldi has one major drawback — its budget-busting price tag. Gilead says it will cost $84,000 for the three-month treatment
regime. That’s $1,000 a pill. The debut of sofosbuvir offers a clear example of how expensive technology enters the medical marketplace even before all the evidence comes in that the drug works. In Sovaldi’s case not all the new drug combinations have been extensively tested. “We may be in for surprises, still,” said Charles Rice, a hepatitis C expert at Rockefeller University in New York City. It also raises important questions about who should pay for the drug. Should it be Medicare? Medicaid? Commercial insurers? Or should it be the patients whose insurance policies increasingly come with high amounts of cost-sharing in the form of deductibles and coinsurance? And what contribution does Sovaldi make to the overall high price of medical care in the U.S., the highest in the world? Indeed these questions can be asked
about any new drug or medical device. But they aren’t. Other countries have agencies that deliberate such trade-offs. We don’t. To raise them conjures up unpleasant images of rationing — patients deprived of life-saving treatments. Asking them also conflicts with a deeply held American belief that the medicine man sits at the right hand of God, and we’re willing to spend anything for cures and treatments even if they are extraordinarily pricey. The entry of Sovaldi also invites serious questioning about why the price of new medical technology doesn’t seem to decrease as prices for other technological advances do — computers, for example. There’s no downward pressure on prices. The patent system for new drugs — protection from competition for seven to 12 years — leaves drug makers in the driver’s seat. Payers pretty much have to cough up what drug makers charge. And federal rules prevent Medicare, one of the largest buyers of drugs, from negotiating with drug makers over prices. Basically, what’s left is negative publicity, and the press doesn’t provide much of that. A recent NPR segment did, however, as they probed the high price of sofosbuvir. It questioned why the drug maker needed to make its prices so high especially given the large potential market for the drug. One
hepatitis expert wanted to know why once Gilead recovered its costs it couldn’t reduce the price. “I don’t want to say it’s unfair, but it does start feeling more exploitative,” she told NPR listeners. A Gilead vice president responded “That’s very unlikely that we would do that.” Right now they don’t have to. Instead Gilead said it would help patients pay for the drug. You know one of those patient-assistance programs that no doubt help those who have no money for such expensive treatment. But does that gesture do much to bring down the cost of the drug and thus the country’s health care tab that feeds into the insurance premiums and cost of care we pay out of pocket? No, say many experts. Such programs may serve to keep drug prices high. All this is something to ponder as we move into an election year with health care and its cost promising to dominate the campaign. Trudy Lieberman is immediate past president of the Association of Health Care Journalists. The Rural Health News Service is funded by a grant from The Commonwealth Fund and distributed through the Colorado Press Association, the Nebraska Press Association Foundation and the South Dakota Newspaper Association.
Job opportunities increase for veterans
Kummer Continued from Page 10
and reduce some of the wealth accumulation. This includes higher taxes for the wealthy, such as higher payroll tax on incomes over $200,000. Higher tax brackets across the board are also in effect, including an investment tax of 3.8 percent for filers in the highest tax bracket, which is now 39.5 percent. Some folks will discover this year that they are paying over 50 percent in taxes if they include payroll tax, investment tax, federal and state income tax. The Affordable Health Care Act is designed to also help level the playing field by bringing medical benefits to all citizens. By now most people applying for new health insurance discovered their premiums increased unless their incomes are below the poverty limit. It is too early to tell how these changes will affect our economic growth in 2014. Strong early earnings reports indicate we are still carrying some momentum over from last year. It may take a few quarters
ghanistan will not have the technical skills to transition directly from his military occupational field to a civilian one. However, like so many others who serve or have served our country, they come with leadership skills, teamwork, and a sense of determination and urgency to accomplish whatever task they are given. My legislation, H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act, will provide incentives for employers to hire our veterans so they can make that transition to a civilian job. There is also a little known and underutilized program that allows veterans to use their educational benefits to take advantage of job training through apprenticeship programs. Under this program, a veteran’s G.I. Bill benefits can be used to help pay their salaries instead of paying for college. Additionally, the salary is split between a veteran’s G.I. Bill benefits and the employer with the employer picking up more of the cost as the veteran gains experience. The Veterans Job Opportunity Act will expand the program by requiring that
to evaluate the impact of higher taxes and higher health care costs on employers. This could derail the decline of unemployment or could eventually cut into corporate profits. The Federal Reserve Board will likely continue to taper the bond purchase program as the economy gains more stability. This could continue to fuel risk investments although likely at a slower rate than the last two years. In the meantime we should revel in the continued recovery. Make certain your investments reflect your goals for the New Year and you are diversified to take advantage of different types of growth in the future. Patricia Kummer has been an independent Certified Financial Planner for 27 years and is President of Kummer Financial Strategies Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor in Highlands Ranch. She welcomes your questions at www.kummerfinancial.com or by calling the economic hotline at 303683-5800. Any material discussed is meant for informational purposes only and not a substitute for individual advice.
the Department of Veterans Affairs notify all military personnel of the program before they are discharged from active duty, it then further incentivizes private sector employers to hire veterans by increasing the share of the salary that the VA will pay, and it will open up opportunities in the public sector as well by making all agencies of the Federal government participate in the program. This is a commonsense bill that will benefit not only our returning veterans but also employers who will experience the value of employing a United States vet-
Cummings
eran. The Veterans Job Opportunity Act passed the House of Representatives unanimously last year and is now awaiting action in the Senate. U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. He has 21 years of combined service between the U.S. Army, the Army Reserve, the U.S. Marine Corps and the Marine Corps Reserve. He represents the 6th Congressional District.
OBITUARIES
Orval “Joe” Cummings Orval “Joe” Cummings passed away December 23, 2013 in Dickson, TN. Joe was a Veteran of the U.S. Air Force and retired from Lockheed Martin. He lived in both Douglas and Elbert Counties. Married to Martha who preceded him in death, Joe is survived by his three children, Joe and wife Melissa of Parker, Cindy Biays of Castle Rock, and Richard and Elida of Fairview, TN. He also had 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. He gave us all more than we could ever give back. His life will be celebrated at a memorial service at Ft. Logan National Ceremony. Contributions in his honor may be made to Hope’s Promise Adoption Care 303-660-0277.
Lambrecht
Dalton Lambrecht
Apr 25, 1998 – Dec 29, 2013
Survived by his proud parents, John and Roni Lambrecht, his grandparents, Jean/ Charles Bradfute, Ron/ Denise Wing, Chaines Lambrecht, his aunties, uncles, cousins, and better friends than anyone could ever dream of having, and his dog, Daxton. See PonderosaValleyFunerals.com.
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With the Iraq War over and our involvement in Afghanistan winding down, the military is getting ready to downsize and many more veterans will soon be forced to make the transition to civilian life. I joined the Army after my junior year of high school, earned a high school diploma through an Army program, and was accepted at the University of Colorado before I left active duty. Needless to say, attending the University of Colorado as a young, single veteran was a great experience, both academically and socially. I was able to cover most of the cost of going to college under the educational benefits that I had earned through my military service. This program was commonly called the G.I. Bill when I went to the University of Colorado and it is now referred to as the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill for our current generation of returning veterans. No doubt, our military families have already been stressed by the multiple deployments of their service members and they now face more anxiety with the uncertain future of having to leave the military, which for many is the only career that they have ever known. Many of those who have recently left the military, or are soon to leave, are not interested in using their educational benefits to get a four-year college degree but would much rather have a job where they can better support their families. Our veterans are tremendously talented but need help transitioning their military skills to civilian employment. A Marine Corps infantry rifleman serving in Af-
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