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What prevents US hospitals from importing the drug, for example from Europe?
by danmaz74 11y ago
What prevents US hospitals from importing the drug, for example from Europe?
- nrr 11y agoAnything going that route will lack FDA approval/indications/contraindications, a Medicare baseline price, and insurance companies willing to pay for it. This makes the average hospital less willing to lean in the direction of self-importation. Granted, this is import restrictions notwithstanding. Some substances can't even be brought across the border except under penalty of imprisonment for smuggling in a controlled substance. There are often no permits that one can acquire, which means that the drugs must be manufactured in the US.
- danmaz74 11y agoThanks; I thought that for corporations, importing drugs was possible. So, basically, big European pharma needs to produce its drugs for the US market in the US? Anyway, how ironic: > lack ... a Medicare baseline price
- Zigurd 11y agoAt $500,000 per course of medication per patient, it is still vastly cheaper to export the patient if you can't import the drug. I'm a little surprised some insurers have not tried doing that: Send the patient to Canada or Europe for treatment.