Many hospitals and clinics are grappling with escalating prices for critical chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin, amidst growing shortages.
As per reports, these life-saving medications are being offered by some suppliers at five to 10 times their regular prices. A recent report found that an alternate supplier was charging $500 per vial for carboplatin, a staggering tenfold increase from its usual $50 price.
These exorbitant prices primarily affect smaller healthcare institutions, which may not have the financial leverage of larger hospitals.
The scarcity of these chemotherapy drugs, which are vital for treating cancers of the brain, lung, throat, and ovaries, has been acknowledged by the Food and Drug Administration.
While patients with insurance may not directly face these inflated prices, hospitals often have to absorb the extra costs.
This can be especially challenging for smaller centers that serve lower-income patients with limited insurance coverage.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].