Why Should Politicians and Bureaucrats Decide Whether Breast‐Cancer Patients Can Take Avastin?
Today’s Washington Post contains an article titled, “FDA Considers Revoking Approval of Avastin for Advanced Breast Cancer.” An excerpt:
The debate over Avastin, prescribed to about 17,500 women with breast cancer a year, has become entangled in the politically explosive struggle over medical spending and effectiveness that flared during the battle over health‐care reform: How should the government balance protecting patients and controlling costs without restricting access to cutting‐edge, and often costly, treatments?
A better question is: why should the government be the one to strike that balance? Why shouldn’t some women be able to sign up for a health plan that covers Avastin, while others are free to make a different choice?
