Monterey, CA Many Seniors Can't Afford Cancer, Leukemia And Other Expensive Drugs

There was a sad story in Business Week about a retired professor with leukemia who recently paid $7,676 for a month's supply of medication.  The cost has tripled since he began taking the medication and his out of pocket costs have totaled more than $140,000.  "People with this condition are being taken advantage of by the pharmaceutical industry," Professor Hartford told Business Week.  "They haven't improved the drug, they haven't done anything but keep manufacturing it.  How do they justify it?" he asked rhetorically.  It's not just leukemia drugs.  Fifteen cancer drugs introduced over the past five years cost more than $10,000 per month, according to data from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  And a cholesterol medicine used for people that have a rare genetic disorder costs $311,000 per year.  The list goes on and on.  The government needs to do something to make sure that these prices come out of the stratosphere so that the severely ill get the help that they need.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors