Extortion and the Ethics of “Topping Up”

In November 2008 Professor Mike Richards issued his much awaited review of the British Department of Health's policy on out-of-pocket payments (“top-ups”) for drugs not approved as cost effective by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The policy stated, or had been...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sachs, Benjamin (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2009
In: Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
Year: 2009, Volume: 18, Issue: 4, Pages: 443-445
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:In November 2008 Professor Mike Richards issued his much awaited review of the British Department of Health's policy on out-of-pocket payments (“top-ups”) for drugs not approved as cost effective by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The policy stated, or had been construed as stating, that those who top up thereby became ineligible for further National Health Service (NHS) treatment for the condition targeted by the drug. For instance, if a lung cancer sufferer bought Avastin, which is not NICE approved, she could no longer receive free treatment for her cancer on the NHS's tab. Richards, the National Cancer Director, recommended that the policy be repealed. From an ethical point of view, this change should be enthusiastically welcomed.
ISSN:1469-2147
Contains:Enthalten in: Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0963180109090653