House OKs cost limits for new cancer drugs

Newly created cancer drugs that can be taken orally would be less expensive under legislation approved by the state House on Friday.

House Bill 943, by Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville, would require insurance companies that provide cover for intravenous cancer medications to charge no more than a $200 co-pay for medications taken orally.

Hawkins said most insurance plans in the state cover no more than 70 percent or 80 percent of the cost, which can be as high as $10,000. His bill would limit that to $200. Patients would also save money by not having to visit a doctor or hospital to receive the IV.

“Two hundred or 3,000?” Hawkins said. “It’s a big difference. Twenty-seven states already passed similar legislation.”

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Aaron Gould Sheinin

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