A British Columbia provincial policy that forced people with chronic illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis to switch to cheaper medications saved the province more than $730-million over five years, according to a new government report.
The B.C. government said Friday that the money freed up through its biosimilar switching plan allowed the province to expand public coverage of other drugs and devices, including Trikafta, a life-changing treatment for cystic fibrosis and continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes.
Forcing people to switch medications in this manner may have saved the government money but has put the lives of the patients at risk. If you’re taking a biologic medication, there’s always a chance your body could grow accustomed to it and eventually reject the medication. And there’s a limited number of available biologics to try. And it takes months for the patient’s body to adjust. IMO this was a strategy that was the easiest solution but really doesn’t account for the patients at all. There could at least have been a staggered approach by implementing the change slowly as a natural need to switch medications arose, maximising patient safety. Instead, people with “invisible illnesses” are being forced to unnecessarily switch their medications, reducing the options available to them if the switch doesn’t work. The patient impact would need to be monitored over years to manage this responsibly.
Patients should not be pressured to switch their life-altering medications in order to save the government money. Where is the pressure on pharmaceutical companies to lower their goddamn prices so that patients aren’t expected to absorb all the cost and risks in these scenarios? My medications would cost me or the government $1500/month. I totally agree with the government that the price is insane. PATIENTS DON’T SET THE PRICES.
FYI in the U.S. because of some patent shenanigans, biosimilars are not available until 2029. The current cost is $2200 per week.
Even accounting for exchange rates etc that is insane. With my numbers I’d be paying $78k annually just for my medication. Bitch I don’t even earn that much in a year!
Ecit: heh I’m pretty salty about this one I guess but pharmaceutical pricing for biologics is ridiculous, and I think its outrageous to push the burden onto people who are chronically sick. Fuck that.