Home | State of Utah | Dept. of Adminstrative Services | Cybersecurity | Utah Government | Voice and Data Networks | BioTech | Geographic Information Systems | eGovernment | International eGovernment | Web Development | Homeland Security | Technology in Utah | Deseret News | Salt Lake Tribune | Google News | Blog Tapatio | Blog International
David Fletcher's Government and Technology Weblog
| July 2003 | ||||||
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
| Jun Aug | ||||||
Monday, July 28, 2003
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced today that financial relief is on the way for some cancer patients. The patients can receive money for alleged illegal overcharges by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for Taxol® , also called Onxol®, a chemotherapy drug for ovarian, breast and other cancers. The patients can be reimbursed for purchases made during January 1999 through February 2003.
The reimbursement program is a direct result of an approximately $62.5 million settlement of an antitrust suit brought by the attorneys general of all 50 states. The suit alleged that manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb used fraudulent means to delay the entry of lower-priced generic versions of Taxol®, thereby illegally inflating the cost of chemotherapy for thousands of patients
"Cancer patients should not have to worry about being overcharged for the medicine they desperately need," says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. "This settlement gives money back to those who overpaid and will also make sure that prices for this type of drug will be lower in the future."
It is estimated that as many as 400,000 cancer patients could be affected by the case. The settlement provides approximately $12.5 million to reimburse patients for out-of-pocket costs not paid for by insurers. Individual consumers could see claims in the range of $400 - $2600. Additionally, approximately $7.5 million worth of Taxol® will be provided to the states for compassionate care treatment of lower income cancer patients.
Claims must be postmarked by November 14, 2003. Claim forms and complete information can be obtained at www.taxolsettlement.com or by calling 1-800-659-7609.
Taxol® is Bristol-Myers Squibb's brand name for the cancer drug paclitaxel (also marketed as Onxol®), used primarily to treat breast and ovarian cancers, along with certain lung cancers and Kaposi's Sarcoma.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with more than 211,000 new diagnoses each year. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women, with more than 25,000 new cases each year.
Patients who paid for part or all of their treatments with Taxol® or its generic equivalents from January 1, 1999 through February 28, 2003 can file a claim for recovery. More information can be found at the www.taxolsettlement.com or by calling 1-800-659-7609.
5:36:41 PM
The reimbursement program is a direct result of an approximately $62.5 million settlement of an antitrust suit brought by the attorneys general of all 50 states. The suit alleged that manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb used fraudulent means to delay the entry of lower-priced generic versions of Taxol®, thereby illegally inflating the cost of chemotherapy for thousands of patients
"Cancer patients should not have to worry about being overcharged for the medicine they desperately need," says Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. "This settlement gives money back to those who overpaid and will also make sure that prices for this type of drug will be lower in the future."
It is estimated that as many as 400,000 cancer patients could be affected by the case. The settlement provides approximately $12.5 million to reimburse patients for out-of-pocket costs not paid for by insurers. Individual consumers could see claims in the range of $400 - $2600. Additionally, approximately $7.5 million worth of Taxol® will be provided to the states for compassionate care treatment of lower income cancer patients.
Claims must be postmarked by November 14, 2003. Claim forms and complete information can be obtained at www.taxolsettlement.com or by calling 1-800-659-7609.
Taxol® is Bristol-Myers Squibb's brand name for the cancer drug paclitaxel (also marketed as Onxol®), used primarily to treat breast and ovarian cancers, along with certain lung cancers and Kaposi's Sarcoma.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women, with more than 211,000 new diagnoses each year. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer among women, with more than 25,000 new cases each year.
Patients who paid for part or all of their treatments with Taxol® or its generic equivalents from January 1, 1999 through February 28, 2003 can file a claim for recovery. More information can be found at the www.taxolsettlement.com or by calling 1-800-659-7609.
5:36:41 PM
This Page was last update: 8/1/2003; 4:09:11 PM
Copyright 2003 David Fletcher
Theme Design by Bryan Bell
