Right-to-try drug proposal is a solution for a nonexistent problem

Trudy Lieberman

Rural Health News Service

The House of Representatives is likely to take up legislation this fall that was passed by the Senate that gives terminally ill patients the right to try unproven, experimental drugs that are not yet on the market. Thirty-seven states have already passed similar legislation.

It may sound like terrific news for very sick patients with few or no treatment options left, but the issue deserves a much deeper look thanks to its potential impact on people’s pocketbooks and health.

“The public has no idea this is not a good thing,” Alison Bateman-House, a medi...