The best part of the 21st Century Cures Act if enacted into law would be for an increased NIH funding. But the rest could lead to approval of drugs and devices that are not safe and not effective.
The federal government, the biggest payer of cancer care, made cancer costs soar because Medicare pays an extra $6500 a year when chemotherapy is given to a patient in a hospital owned facility. Private insurers also pay a higher premium for care delivered in a hospital setting. The costs will keep spiraling upward because of Government intrusion and clever lobbyists, forcing cancer patients from private practitioners to hospital owned facilities incurring much higher costs.
Patient-assistance programs effectively: (1) increase demand for the drug, (2) allow companies to charge higher prices and thereby gain higher profits, and, (3) enjoy tremendous public-relations benefits.
