Editorial: Use of ‘Off-Label’ Cancer Drugs Drive Up Costs
A New York Times editorial urges the Obama administration to reexamine "a Medicare rule adopted in November that seems likely to make the cost problem worse by expanding coverage for 'off-label' uses of cancer drugs." According to the editorial, "the danger in expanding usage without strong evidence of safety and effectiveness is that patients may be harmed -- and costs may be driven up unnecessarily." The editorial concludes, "The solution -- and an essential component of health care reform -- is to establish centers for comparing the effectiveness of drugs and treatments and the cost-effectiveness of using them."
- "Medicare and 'Off-Label' Cancer Drugs" (New York Times, 2/10).