Making effective decisions in health care requires a thorough understanding of the patient perspective, as well as robust, precise measures of response to therapy. The Patient Access & Affordability Project evaluates the various frameworks used to assess and demonstrate the value of new treatments to ensure that the patient is kept at the center of health care decisions.
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The Conversation
Draft Evidence Report on Treatments for Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease
On November 30, 2020, ICER released its Draft Evidence Report entitled, “Treatments for Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease: Effectiveness and Value." Patients Rising Now submitted comments on the draft report. Some of the concerns raised in the letter include the...
Bad Science: How the use of QALYs creates biased and unreliable outcomes for patients
There are many reasons for patients and advocates to be concerned about organizations – including the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) – that use the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY), and their growing influence over insurance coverage for new drugs...
Fundamentally Flawed: Why ICER seems designed to put the interests of insurers before the needs of patients
Many patients, advocates, and caregivers have heard troubling stories about the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). They have heard about patients who were denied access to vital treatments because ICER determined the drugs were not cost-effective. They...
Draft Evidence Report on treatments for high cholesterol
On November 12, 2020, ICER released its Draft Evidence Report entitled, “Bempedoic Acid and Inclisiran for Patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia and for Secondary Prevention of ASCVD: Effectiveness and Value.” Patients Rising Now submitted comments...
President-Elect Biden, Refocus Our Health Care System on Patients
President-elect Biden has a unique opportunity to refocus our health care system on patients in ways we have never seen before. The COVID-19 pandemic presents our greatest challenge and perhaps our greatest opportunity to solve long-standing and emergent health...
The high cost of the Most Favored Nation Executive Order
As we enter the final stretch of the 2020 election season, many of us may be reviewing the candidates’ stances on issues of not only personal, but also national, importance as we consider the choices before us. High on this list for many Americans is access to...
Unheard Voices: How ICER and its QALY standard fail to incorporate the needs and perspectives of patients
In the summer of 2019, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) hosted a public meeting to discuss its value assessments of new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. For patient advocates and others who follow ICER, the events of that day have...