Comment by Wowfunhappy
3 years ago
...I think that's basically how it works? If the company is running a trial, you can enroll in the trial. AFAIK being in a trial is free for participants.
Of course, there are any number of reasons someone may be rejected from the trial. If that happens, the company isn't going to just freely give them the drug anyway, because it wouldn't provide scientifically valid data. Also, no one would enroll in a trial (which carries the potential of getting the placebo) if they could get the treatment outside the trial.
The drug itself might be paid for, as well as tests under the scope of the study (which might be narrow), but services to administer the drug, and tests or treatment for effects not in the scope of the study, aren't always covered. Or, in the stupidest cases, approval gets bogged down by the drug company, patient, or administering clinic/practitioner trying to get the patient's insurance to cover whatever's not covered by the trial for so long that the patient no longer qualifies (or is dead) by the time insurance relents and agrees to pay.