Bruce Cree, MD, PhD, MAS, Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology in the Department of Neurology at the University of California San Francisco, discusses the common issue of delay in getting orphan drugs covered by health insurance companies.
As many in the rare disease community know, getting an orphan drug approved for coverage under a medical plan is a lengthy process. According to Dr. Cree, health insurance companies benefit from delays in this process and may even encourage them. Unfortunately, patients – especially those with rare diseases who may have little to no targeted treatment options – suffer when there are setbacks in coverage approvals. According to Dr. Cree, the complexity of this issue means congressional involvement may be necessary to change the way orphan drugs are evaluated for coverage by health insurance companies.
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