Profits over Patients - Harrison Teele

 Harrison Teele

12 February 2025

HST401 - Seminar in Science Writing

Professor Horgan


Profits over Patients


It should come as no surprise that the healthcare industry profits immensely from cancer. Drug research and patient treatments alone generate exorbitant amounts of wealth, being valued at 222.36 billion USD in 2023 (BioSpace). Despite the connotations of a billion dollar industry, this level of investment yields significant progress every year. With billions of dollars being invested into oncology, is it reasonable to assume that treatments should be affordable? The average initial treatment costs in 2020 were reported as $64,290, with terminal patients having paid an average of $117,276 during their last year (NCI). It is estimated that around 40% of patients “run out of money within two years of diagnosis” (Gilligan et. al), so does this seem like a reliable industry that is for the people?


One of the most criticized aspects of the cancer industry is the monopoly on drug treatments. Many scold the healthcare and cancer treatment system as a capitalist ploy to exploit the sick. Drug prices are further condemned for their outrageous prices. Enzalutamide is used in the treatment of prostate cancer, and was said to cost “$50 or less, regardless of insurance” according to an Astellas Pharmaceutical (Oncology News). However, according to an independent study by oncologists and urologists, enzalutamide costs $11,626 annually out-of-pocket for patients. Part of this discrepancy is due to different insurance copays, but regardless, that annual price still has to be paid whether through Medicare, employers, etc. I find myself asking what can be done in this situation. The Biden Administration passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which put a $2,000 limit on Medicare Part D drugs (NBC), covering most cancer medications. This did not encompass drugs administered in hospitals or in treatments such as chemotherapy, so I still ask myself, what can be done? The price of enzalutamide is just one example of many “discrepancies” that arise in cancer drug treatments. Though the industry is rooted in righteousness, I still question the morality of the pharmaceutical companies that hike up prices of necessary drugs and treatments just to “gain an edge” in the market.


There seems to be no alternatives to cancer treatments and medications that are clinically proven to be as effective. Despite the MayoClinic listing exercise, aromatherapy, and other alternative treatments, these are not clinically backed. It seems the only way to perfect cancer treatments is to fix the broken drug monopolies. When analyzing other countries in 2016, the U.K. and Australia paid around $3000 USD in monthly drug prices. Compared to the median price of $8500 USD in the United States, there is a disparity not just in the cost of treatment, but in healthcare systems as a whole. David Goldstein poses the following: “Should identical drugs have identical prices around the world irrespective of where they are purchased, or should they be different?”. Many pharmaceutical companies offer similar treatments but drive up prices to maintain dominance in their respective market. This market edge that companies attempt to maintain is one of the root causes of high treatment prices. Patients struggle to afford life-saving treatment and medications, which should only further the need for drug price transparency and regulation.


It is wishful thinking to assume that pharmaceutical companies (and furthermore, the healthcare industry) would realize they have a moral duty to make treatments affordable. Perhaps one day the United States will be leading the world in affordable and effective cancer treatments, but as of now it seems to be too far in the future. The cancer industry is just one of the exploited areas of the healthcare system, where profits are valued more than patient wellness.



Works Cited

Benjamin Pockros. “Out-of-Pocket Costs for Prostate Cancer Medications Substantially Vary by Medicare Part D Plan: An Online Tool Presents an Opportunity to Mitigate Financial Toxicity.” Urology Practice, 2023, https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/UPJ.0000000000000421.

“Financial Burden of Cancer Care | Cancer Trends Progress Report.” Cancer Trends Progress Report, https://progressreport.cancer.gov/after/economic_burden. Accessed 12 February 2025.

Gilligan, Adrienne M., et al. “Death or Debt? National Estimates of Financial Toxicity in Persons with Newly-Diagnosed Cancer.” American Journal of Medicine, vol. 131, no. 10, 1187-1199.e5.

Lovelace, Berkeley. “Medicare's $2000 prescription drug cap expected to bring major relief to cancer patients.” NBC News, 25 December 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/medicare-prescription-drug-cap-cancer-relief-january-rcna185251. Accessed 12 February 2025.

“Oncology Market Size to Exceed USD 521.60 Billion by 2033 | CAGR 8.9%.” BioSpace, 16 April 2024, https://www.biospace.com/laxman-dige-precedenceresearch-com. Accessed 12 February 2025.

Swift, Diana. “Public Dollars, Private Profits? Cancer Drug’s Cost Sky High Despite Taxpayer Funding.” Oncology News Central, 7 February 2025, https://www.oncologynewscentral.com/drug/public-dollars-private-profits-cancer-drugs-cost-sky-highdespite-taxpayer-funding. Accessed 12 February 2025.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond

Image
  Matthew P Kearney Scaling the Potential of Vertical Farming Going into 2025 and Beyond      Vertical farming may seem like something out of a futuristic movie, but they are very real in today’s agricultural industry. Vertical farming may promote a stronger relationship between urbanization and sustainable crop production. Based on recent innovations across agriculture and technology, vertical farming has the potential to revolutionize our current farming system. Through the development of vertical farming-based production lines, cities and otherwise unfarmable areas can be provided with fresh, local, and pesticide-free produce. Vertical farming and other adaptations of agriculture are not new ideas, but instead a historic and human process.      These technologies are ready to meaningfully address global food security through the technological and computational advancements in agriculture. Vertical farming has a promising future, which becomes a case...
Read more

Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health?

Image
  Hadia Hussain      Knot Your Average Problem: How do Tongue Ties Impact Oral Myofunctional Health? Sitting in the nursery of the dental office where I worked, I reviewed Baby V’s medical history and reports from the Emergency Department at Jersey City Medical Center. I found it odd that, despite multiple visits and clear signs of malnutrition, no physician had been able to diagnose the cause. Baby V, at a low weight of 12 pounds was struggling with difficulty nursing and bottle feeding, excessive gassiness, colic, clicking sounds when feeding, milk dribbling out of the mouth, and mouth breathing—but doctors had dismissed these signs, labeling him as "healthy."  It didn’t make sense as his low weight raised serious concerns.  According to Pediatric specialists Jenny Olson, DNP, and Sarha DeVrieze, ARNP, at the UnityPoint Clinic, a 9-month-old baby boy should weigh anywhere in between the range of 17 to 25 pounds. Baby V's situation was clearly a ...
Read more

Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness

Image
Vrinda Modi Crisis to Care: NJ’s Battle with Addiction and Homelessness      “Roll a rig!”, I hear over the radio a second after the tones drop. As an EMT in Hoboken, it's all too common for me to respond to at least one 911 call per shift for an individual under the influence passed out on the sidewalk—usually flagged by a concerned bystander or a police officer who believes they might need medical attention. More often than not, the real issue isn't just medical; it's societal. These individuals, often homeless, have become part of the city’s landscape, invisible to most but impossible to ignore. When I ask for their address, it's almost always the local shelter. When we arrive at the ER, we’re often greeted by familiar eye-rolls from disgruntled hospital staff. The ER clerk barely glances up, lets out a sigh, and asks, “Substance abuse?” I nod. “Who is it this time?” By now, the hospital staff know each chronic substance abuser in the city by name. Behind the hospit...
Read more