Hospitals are saving lives with CAR-T. Getting paid is another story - STAT

Hospitals are saving lives with CAR-T. Getting paid is another story - STAT

Hospitals are saving lives with CAR-T. Getting paid is another story

By IKE SWETLITZ

JOHN WALLACE/VCU MASSEY CANCER CENTER

WASHINGTON — Penny Trentham’s hospital is missing more than a million bucks.

For about seven months, doctors at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center in Richmond have been treating patients with CAR-T therapy, a cutting-edge medical procedure that uses a person’s own cells to fight against their cancer. It’s a last-ditch effort that can cure patients who have run out of any other options, but it’s pricey — the medicines themselves cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the extended hospital stay can bring the total bill much higher.

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