Posted on 07/25/2014 1:58:19 PM PDT by grundle
And I suspect that a majority of them will ultimately die thinking they received the same medical care there that they would have received here in the states.........
It’s the same “water should be free” mentality we’re seeing with the residents of Detroit. Few liberals understand how a sophisticated infrastructure necessary for running a civilized society is set up. In a libs mind, all the necessities should be “free.” Food, water, clothing, shelter, drugs, entertainment, etc.....all “free.” Because these things just happen by themselves. (snicker)
As a side note, it's highly likely that that "some other country" won't even have access to that drug treatment program.........
Why? There are plenty of places in the world with great medical care other than the USA, if you have the money. I wonder what it costs in Israel?
But Egypt does? Why is that?
Rumsfeld used to be CEO of Gilead, so that could explain some of their hatred. I remember when Gilead acquired the company that invented the drug (they paid a fortune). Their stock actually declined for awhile.
Going through major surgery is no picnic either, and the quality of life is so much better with a person's natural liver.
This is one of the flaws of Obamacare. If people are forced to buy health insurance and forced into what's covered, there's no incentive for cheaper cures.
A cure this expensive is not the answer for any disease, realistically speaking. Let those who can afford it pay if that's what they choose.
What is it about Egypt's medical system that makes you think it rival's the US's and what makes you think you would possibly receive the same treatment and care there as here in the US?
Because they say so?
Are all of the causes of Hep C preventable?
If they are, I don’t understand why governments or insurance should pay for the very expensive treatment. There was a story on the TV news in which someone said this drug will add $200 - $300 to the annual cost of an insurance policy
She died a few years ago from the liver disease caused by the HEP C
We’re talking about a drug here, not brain surgery. It’s price is high in the US because of patent rights, not because it’s expensive or necessarily hard to produce.
You've answered my question. HepC is not an entirely preventable disease. The probelem still exists, though, that there's no incentive to search for cheaper solutions when expensive ones are covered.
This drug is so important to the US, as well as the world, that subsidizing it with the idea of radically reducing the number of Hepatitis C carriers is not unreasonable. In the US it is pronounced among immigrants, with as many as 10 million infected. In turn, any blood transfer, as well as congenital transfer will work its way into our general population.
The most infected nation in the world is Egypt, a side effect of a humanitarian vaccination effort against a waterborne parasite that had tormented them since the time of the Pharoahs. In any event, some 10% of their population is infected with Hepatitis C.
In any event, if the price of a 12 week regimen could be reduced to a thousand dollars, it would go a long way to protecting our population from a nasty and often lethal disease.
To say nothing of the fact that the drug, unlike livers, can be manufactured in bulk.
There are some drugs who’s patents have been extended multiple times.
Then there is the money that tends to gravitate towards politicians. Good reason why patents are extended, and also why the drugs are expensive.
Government subsidization of research is thin and many $$ are wasted on the inane.
Lets add in some lawyers and class action lawsuits that are inevitable when the drug companies get sued. It’s easy to see that a critical drug such as this one for Hep C, if it does not work or goes sideways, big money lawsuits spring up.
Bottom line is: There is alot the Federal Government can do to help reduce the cost of Non-reoccurring engineering and research expenses without infringing on our capitalistic society.
Alas, we have a big burgeoning federal bureaucracy where “government help” only means additional costs.
Because Gilead's cost structure is based on per capita income........with Egypt being at the extreme low end of that income range.
Because Egypt's socialized medical system is 100% govt. funded.
Because YOU, as an American citizen, would NEVER be allowed treatment in Egypt should you travel there for it.
And if you were lucky enough to be a citizen in Egypt, you, as an Egyptian citizen, would be put on a waiting list, a list that is headed up by only the rich and influential citizens of that country while all the poor schleps wait in line for the treatment that would likely never be made available to them before they died.........
You're "dead" wrong on that. Its price is high in the US because it costs about a billion dollars to complete all of the testing required to get a new drug approved by the FDA. Then, they can only recover that cost during the time of the patent coverage, because the patent is required to give sufficient information for anyone else to produce it.
If they stopped DOING DRUGS they wouldn’t have to worry about this disease, or its cost.
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