Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cost Of Aid-In-Dying Medication Doubled To More Than $3,000 Last Year
When California’s aid-in-dying law takes effect this June, terminally ill patients who decide to end their lives could be faced with a hefty bill for the lethal medication. It retails for more than $3,000. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes the drug most commonly used in physician-assisted suicide, doubled the drug’s price last year, one month after California lawmakers proposed legalizing the practice. (Dembosky, 3/22)
Meanwhile, U.S. News & World Report finds California will help cover expenses for Medi-Cal patients who want the medication used under the aid-in-dying law —
California’s aid-in-dying law contains a provision allowing doctors and hospitals to opt out of helping terminally ill patients access medications that would help them hasten their deaths, but that same exemption will not be carved out for state taxpayers, U.S. News has learned. The state government plans to assist in the cost of providing life-ending medications and doctor visits using $2.3 million already quietly tucked into Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget in January, according to a spokesperson for California’s Department of Health Care Services. Of five states that offer aid-in-dying options, California will be the second, after Oregon, that covers the prescriptions using public funds. (Leonard, 3/21)
