On the Record

"Because patients switch [insurers] over their lifetimes, an individual payer making a coverage decision on one of these new therapies would not expect to experience the full set of downstream benefits."

— Genia Long, a senior adviser for the economic consulting firm Analysis Group, Inc., describing the thought process insurers go through as they review pricey treatments like Spark Therapeutics, Inc.’s Luxturna, an $850,000 one-time gene therapy that cures blindness. Long spoke at a recent webinar hosted by the National Pharmaceutical Council.