$17,000 per Month: How Sky-High Prescription Prices Take Toll on Patients

“If I had an average of 10% less, or stubborn and 10% less, I would probably be dead,” Sarah, a patient with multiple sclerosis, said as she described her year-long battle to get a drug that could change the course of her incurable condition and prolong her productive life for years. Sarah, diagnosed at age 37, said she experienced symptoms of the central nervous system disease. This includes numbness, weakness, troublesome walking, changes in vision, and obscure speech. “I felt like my eyes fell off my head,” she said. Her doctor prescribed medication to relieve symptoms, but it helped for a while, according to Sarah. However, when her symptoms worsened, her doctor prescribed a new medication called Kesimpta, which was promised relief but was very expensive.