Dawn Patterson of Perrysburg, Ohio, takes a multimillion-dollar drug to treat a rare bone disease that two of her children have, too. Credit Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
WITH DRUG COMPANIES developing new, life-saving treatments for once untreatable diseases, more and more families are asking their insurance companies to pay for these novel medications. According to a recent article in The New York Times, new treatments for rare diseases can cost millions, as was the case for a Boilermaker family highlighted in the article.
The cost for three family members taking the same life-changing drug was $6 million a year, with the lifetime cost estimated to top $60 million. The outrageous costs spurred the Boilermakers National Health and Welfare Fund into action to negotiate a lower cost with drug maker Alexion.
There are countless others in the United States also dealing with the high cost of prescription medicine. Read The New York Times article about the toll of high-cost pharmaceuticals and how that’s affecting not only families, but the Boilermakers and other employers as well.
