White House To Cut Money For Cancer Drugs

The Bush administration will soon propose significant cuts in Medicare payments for cancer drugs, based on new data suggesting that the government pays far more than the market price for such medicines, administration officials said today.

Doctors, who could lose income under the proposal, and patients' advocates said the cuts could harm cancer care. Ellen L. Stovall, president of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, an advocacy group led by cancer survivors, said the proposals, "instead of expanding access to lifesaving drugs, would limit access to cancer treatments for some of the most seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries."