David Blumenthal on Drugs and Dollars
<p>For years, scientists and analysts have predicted an explosion of expensive new agents that are tailor-made to counter the underlying causes of disease, genetic and otherwise. And now such drugs—for example, Sovaldi, for treating hepatitis C—are starting to hit the market. </p><p>In a <a href="/blog/2014/drugs-and-dollars">new blog post,</a> The Commonwealth Fund’s David Blumenthal, M.D., and David Squires discuss the new challenges these drugs will present as we aim to balance high health care costs against other societal imperatives, such as education, housing, transportation infrastructure, and the very research and development that has spawned the new treatments.</p>
<p>They outline several policy options to help prepare for this challenge, including the use of comparative effectiveness research, methods for controlling prices, the implementation of a faster approval process for less expensive alternative drugs, and more. </p>
<p>Visit <a href="/newsletter/ealert/david-blumenthal-drugs-and-dollars">The Commonwealth Fund Blog</a> for the complete post.</p>