Roughly 860,000 Illinois residents have asthma. Most of them can manage their condition without medication, or with simple inhalers. But for the most severe cases, patients often need specialized drugs that are injected under medical supervision at outpatient clinics known as “infusion centers.” Without these specialized injections, patients frequently suffer life-threatening asthma attacks.
Unfortunately, these most critical patients may soon lose access to their medicines.
Starting in April, Illinois’ largest insurer — Blue Cross Blue Shield — will deny coverage to common injectable therapies administered by medical professionals at infusion centers. Instead, Blue Cross Blue Shield expects patients to inject themselves with the drugs at home.
It’s, quite literally, a breathtakingly self-serving financial move that threatens patients’ lives. And time is running out for state lawmakers and regulators to intervene.
From an insurer’s perspective, it’s cheaper for the insurance company to have the patient administer medication at home than to receive it at an infusion center.
While at-home injections can be the right choice for some, patients — with the help of their doctors — ought to weigh the benefits and drawbacks and choose for themselves.
And there are real drawbacks to at-home injections. Some of these medications can trigger relatively rare but extremely serious allergic reactions like anaphylaxis, in which patients’ airways seize up and they can’t breathe. Infusion centers closely monitor patients after injections to watch for signs of an allergic reaction.
That sort of monitoring isn’t available to patients who have an allergic reaction at home. The result could be deadly.
Then there are the logistical burdens of self-administering a therapy. Xolair, one of the asthma therapies impacted by Blue Cross Blue Shield’s policy, must be kept between 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit. Infusion centers — unlike the typical patient — have dedicated cold storage and handling procedures for complex medications.
Further, studies indicate that patients who receive infusions at home are less likely to adhere to their treatment plans than those who visit a clinic for treatment.
Reduced adherence will mean more asthma attacks, hospital stays and even asthma-related deaths. Already, more than 120 Illinoisans die of asthma-related causes every year.
That toll will almost certainly rise as a result of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s policy — unless policymakers or public backlash force the company to reconsider.
Dr. Russell Petrak, managing senior partner, Metro Infusion Center
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Mayor Johnson’s gift grievance
In regards to the gifts Mayor Brandon Johnson accepted “on behalf of the city,” it hard to believe that he can’t return the lavish items to their senders, and if not then, donate them. I thought politicians were not supposed to accept gifts, then why hang onto them??
They make a decent salary and have a pension.
Suanne Tompkinson, Geneva
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Deborah Halpern, Streeterville
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Ed Avis, Lincoln Park
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