orphan drugs

[Guest justanotherpremed]

Sorry to put two messages on the same board... but I just saw an interesting story on the news...

 

It was about the status of orphan drugs in canada. The thrust of the story was this:

There are some drugs that are very expensive because very few people have the disorder. In the United States, there is an orphan drug plan that helps the manufacturer defray some of the costs. Canada, however, does not have an orphan drug act. Thus, unless certain drugs are approved to be paid for through drug plans or medicare, patients will not be able to pay for them.

 

I don't know exactly what disease/drug the story was on, since I came in during the middle ( I guess that makes for a pretty crummy post ). I think it was pronounced (fuh-bree-z)?

 

With the fact that medicare is already costing too much, how can the government afford to pay for these drugs? But how can it afford NOT to pay for these drugs if people may suffer terribly without them. Isn't this yet another indictment of the unsustainable public-funds health care system? :hat :smokin

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