The Netherlands: World's most expensive drug may not be covered by Dutch insurance

A drug to treat a rare muscle disease which affects some 20 children in the Netherlands a year should not be included in the basic insurance package unless the price is halved, government advisory group Zorginstituut Nederland has said in new recommendations.

In addition, pharmaceutical company Novartis should also agree to payment on the basis of the actual results, the institute said. Zolgensma, known as the most expensive drug in the world, is used to treat spinal muscular dystrophy (SMA) and costs €1.9m per treatment. The institute estimates that if the cost were halved, the drug would add some €11m to the Dutch healthcare budget a year.

Read more at: World's most expensive drug may not be covered by Dutch insurance - DutchNews.nl

Global Health Care Ranking: Survey Ranks the U.S. Health Care System Lowest in Performance - Melissa Hellmann

 he U.S. health care system has been subject to heated debate over the past decade, but one thing that has remained consistent is the level of performance, which has been ranked as the worst among industrialized nations for the fifth time, according to the 2014 Commonwealth Fund survey 2014. The U.K. ranked best with Switzerland following a close second.

The Commonwealth Fund report compares the U.S. with 10 other nations: France, Australia, Germany, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K. were all judged to be superior based on various factors. These include quality of care, access to doctors and equity throughout the country.

Results of the study rely on data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Health Organization and interviews from physicians and patients.

Although the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world, the nation ranks lowest in terms of “efficiency, equity and outcomes,” according to the report. One of the most piercing revelations is that the high rate of expenditure for insurance is not commensurate to the satisfaction of patients or quality of service. High out-of-pocket costs and gaps in coverage “undermine efforts in the U.S. to improve care coordination,” the report summarized.

A striking take-home from the report was a need for equity throughout the nation. “Disparities in access to services signal the need to expand insurance to cover the uninsured and to ensure that all Americans have an accessible medical home,” it said. A lack of universal health care was noted as the key difference between the U.S. and the other industrial nations.

Note EU-Digest: Sorry to say but this Time report  is right on target, Insurance companies, Medical Profession (Dr's) and Pharmaceutical companies have one common goal, ripping off patients, and the US political establishment not only does nothing about it, many are also on the payroll of these thieves.

Read more at: Survey Ranks the U.S. Health Care System Lowest in Performance | Time

USA: Major shortage of Drs by 2030: NYU Is Offering Free Tuition to Medical Students - by Adam Harris

Medical school costs a lot of money that a lot of people don’t have. That often means students do a bit of cost-benefit analysis: Is it worth it to take on hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt now for the possibility of making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year later?

New York University’s School of Medicine is trying remove that calculation as a factor in students’ career decision making. The school announced yesterday that it will provide all new, future, and current students a full-tuition scholarship—financial need and merit aside, meaning wealthy students and low-income students alike will receive it. The scholarship doesn’t cover the rest of the costs associated with college—housing, food, child care—but it takes $55,018 a year out of the picture.

“This decision recognizes a moral imperative that must be addressed, as institutions place an increasing debt burden on young people who aspire to become physicians,” Robert Grossman, the school’s dean, said in a statement. “

A population as diverse as ours is best served by doctors from all walks of life, we believe, and aspiring physicians and surgeons should not be prevented from pursuing a career in medicine because of the prospect of overwhelming financial debt.” The school will need to raise $600 million to fund the project—$450 million of which it says has already been raised.

Read more: NYU Is Offering Free Tuition to Medical Students - The Atlantic