A parent’s worst nightmare: their child being diagnosed with cancer. As author John Green so articulately put it, “There’s only one thing shittier than biting it from cancer, and that’s having a kid who bites it from cancer” (Green). Unfortunately for parents, Jonny and Lorissa Stefanelli, this was a nightmare they could not escape. In early October of this year, their five year-old daughter, Natali, was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumor, a rare kidney cancer that is most commonly found in children. Natali was immediately airlifted to the University of North Carolina Children’s Hospital, where she underwent a successful surgery for seven hours. Although surgeons were able to remove her tumor, kidney, lymph nodes, and appendix, Natali had to begin
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Medications can cost patients several thousands of dollars per month. Sometimes insurance will cover these costs, but only with a high co-payment of roughly 25% of the drug cost, which still results in thousands of dollars that patients must pay. What’s worse, is that patients do not have the option of making payments on their medication, they must pay the full amount when picking up their prescription (Cancer.Org). Lauren Bauuman, a 30 year-old single mother, has battled a chronic form of leukemia over the past four years. Fortunately for her, her cancer is manageable as long as she takes a wonder drug known as Gleevec, everyday, for the rest of her life. However, her monthly co-payment is an astounding $2,000. The prices will only increase as time goes on. Gleevec’s wholesale price has tripled from $2,624 to $9,210 since its debut on the market in 2011. When asked why cancer drugs prices are so outrageously high, Peter Bach, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering 's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York, said it’s “because they can be.” Gleevec’s manufacturer, Novartis, argued that only a small amount of patients paid the full price for their wonder drug, claiming that a high cost of research and high value to its patients was the reason behind the excessive price. In 2012, Gleevec raked in $4.7 billion in sales. Surely, Novartis could get by with two billion, or even one. Within the …show more content…
The most popular route is the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, which is an attempt to provide all Americans with affordable, quality health insurance. Prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, significant amounts of people were denied the ability to obtain health insurance because they had been diagnosed with cancer. Reports claim that 60% of uninsured Americans with cancer were more likely to die than those with insurance. Today, insurance companies are not allowed to deny health insurance to those with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer. Under the ACA, there will no longer be a cap on annual or lifetime insurance
Medications can cost patients several thousands of dollars per month. Sometimes insurance will cover these costs, but only with a high co-payment of roughly 25% of the drug cost, which still results in thousands of dollars that patients must pay. What’s worse, is that patients do not have the option of making payments on their medication, they must pay the full amount when picking up their prescription (Cancer.Org). Lauren Bauuman, a 30 year-old single mother, has battled a chronic form of leukemia over the past four years. Fortunately for her, her cancer is manageable as long as she takes a wonder drug known as Gleevec, everyday, for the rest of her life. However, her monthly co-payment is an astounding $2,000. The prices will only increase as time goes on. Gleevec’s wholesale price has tripled from $2,624 to $9,210 since its debut on the market in 2011. When asked why cancer drugs prices are so outrageously high, Peter Bach, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering 's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York, said it’s “because they can be.” Gleevec’s manufacturer, Novartis, argued that only a small amount of patients paid the full price for their wonder drug, claiming that a high cost of research and high value to its patients was the reason behind the excessive price. In 2012, Gleevec raked in $4.7 billion in sales. Surely, Novartis could get by with two billion, or even one. Within the …show more content…
The most popular route is the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, which is an attempt to provide all Americans with affordable, quality health insurance. Prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, significant amounts of people were denied the ability to obtain health insurance because they had been diagnosed with cancer. Reports claim that 60% of uninsured Americans with cancer were more likely to die than those with insurance. Today, insurance companies are not allowed to deny health insurance to those with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer. Under the ACA, there will no longer be a cap on annual or lifetime insurance