Local councilmember raises awareness of medicine costs during Sickle Cell Awareness Month
Currently, there are around three million people in the United States that have the disease, and 100,000 of them are New Yorkers.
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September marks Sickle Cell Awareness Month, and one local City Council member is bringing up how the cost of treating the condition has only risen for patients.
Currently, there are around three million people in the United States that have the disease, and 100,000 of them are New Yorkers. Sickle cell causes your red blood cells that carry oxygen to be deformed and eventually rupture.
Patients who are on Medicaid in 2021 had an average cost of $18,000 per admission. Councilmember Lynn Schulman brought more awareness on how this price has only gone up.
In New York state, only 14% of sickle cell patients live past 51. The City Council is set to vote on a bill that will develop a professional education program and public outreach campaign on sickle cell anemia in the coming weeks.
