Concern over the high cost of Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) continues to mount. In fact, Gilead Sciences’ latest drug to treat the hepatitis C virus (HCV) could add an extra $200 to $300 to every insured American’s health insurance premiums annually over the next five years, according to an analysis and commentary in The Journal of the American Medical Association and reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s staff blog.

The analysis—penned by executives at CVS Caremark, one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers—argues that Sovaldi’s $1,000-per-pill price tag (or $86,000 for 12 weeks of treatment) could devastate the finances of both pharmacy benefit managers and everyday insurance-holders across the country. The commentary estimates that 3 million people in the United States living with hepatitis C may currently be eligible for treatment.

However, Gilead maintains that since its new drug works far better than all other hep C treatments on the market today, the drug’s price is justified because, in the long-run, it will be cheaper than dealing with the costs of untreated hep C, which can include liver transplants and cancer care.

At this point, Gilead has a monopoly on the latest generation of hep C treatments on the market. However, AbbVie, Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb all have new, comparable HCV drugs in the pipeline. But these products aren’t expected to come out for another year or so. In the meantime, price negotiations with Gilead are being discussed throughout the country and in international markets. Gilead is also in the midst of fighting off a patent war with its competitors over the legal rights to Sovaldi.

To read the full Seattle PI post, click here.