Posted on 01/19/2009 11:17:28 PM PST by FocusNexus
In Britain, a government agency evaluates new medical products for their "cost effectiveness" before citizens can get access to them. The agency has concluded that $45,000 is the most worth paying for products that extend a person's life by one "quality-adjusted" year. (By their calculus, a year combating cancer is worth less than a year in perfect health.)
Here in the U.S., President-elect Barack Obama and House Democrats embrace the creation of a similar "comparative effectiveness" entity that will do research on drugs and medical devices. They claim that they don't want this to morph into a British-style agency that restricts access to medical products based on narrow cost criteria, but provisions tucked into the fiscal stimulus bill betray their real intentions.
Report language accompanying the House stimulus bill says that "more expensive" medical products "will no longer be prescribed." The House bill also suggests that the new research should be used to create "guidelines" to direct doctors' treatment of difficult, high-cost medical problems.
The bill gives incoming Health Secretary Tom Daschle wide discretion to set priorities, and he's long advocated a U.S. approach modeled on the British agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Mr. Daschle argues that the only way to reduce spending is by allocating medical products based on "cost effectiveness." He's also called for a "federal health board" modeled on the Federal Reserve to rate medical products and create central controls on access.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
“But the House plan isn’t really about filling evidence gaps — it’s about controlling costs. “Science” is merely a veneer.”
Actually this is not about controlling costs, it’s about controlling people.
Welcome to ObamaNation.
What is crazy is that rich and poor alike are injured by the shutdown of medical technology development. I suspect that the rich (including Congressional democrats) WILL have access to new developments, while the rest of us are all shut out.
Another bad sign is the appointment of that evil Luddite prick, Dr. Sidney Wolfe, to a critical technology review position in the Obamination regime.
They are going to pass as many leftist things as possible very very fast. They know Obama’s honeymoon will be pretty short.
The clear implication is that the GOVERNMENT will decide what medications you can or cannot have, not your doctor.
As you said, the 'elite' will get whatever they want. This is how it worked in communism.
Exactly. I want the same exact health insurance policy that Congress gives itself.
NICE’s decision on Alzheimer’s drugs based on flawed calculations
http://www.healthnewstrack.com/health-news-968.html
Thousands of people with early stage Alzheimer’s are being denied access to the only drugs for the disease due to fundamental flaws in the way their cost effectiveness has been calculated.
There has been widespread condemnation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) decision to restrict Alzheimer’s drugs that cost just £2.50 a day on the NHS.
Following a ruling by the Court of Appeal in May 2008, NICE was ordered to release the health economic model used to make the decision to key stakeholders. Alzheimer’s Society has reviewed the calculations and submitted a detailed analysis to NICE. The charity has today appealed for NICE to review its decision on Alzheimer’s drugs.
It’s mostly not cost effective to keep old people alive, so they’ll probably won’t be able to get drugs, all in the “interest of the common good”.
The thing that really sucks about this is I am hitting high middle age and have developed some health issues. I joke with my 11 YO son that he will have to service my drool cup, but I really don’t think it will even come to that.
My 28 year old son just found out that his pacemaker battery has about 3 months of life left. The pacemaker was implanted in 1997. He is unemployed. The new battery will cost $4,000. The current game plan is to sell his vehicle to raise the money in time.
The "rationing" here is what the government will pay. I didn't see any limitations on what a private individual or insurance carrier can pay.
More preview of things to come... If you have a serious disease like cancer, the sooner you die, the more “cost effective” it is for the government. This UK rationing is what Daschle wants to pattern the US government controlled health care after.
Forget the misleading title:
Terminally ill cancer patients to be given more life extending drugs on NHS after NICE U-turn
“NICE has come under fierce attack for the way it decides which drugs the NHS will fund and the length of time it takes to do so.
The protests reached a new level earlier this year when it issued draft advice barring patients with advanced kidney cancer from getting drugs available in most other Western countries. The furore led to the decision being deferred until next month, when many expect it to be reversed. “
In 1984 at least you got your soma pills.
Sodomy and its diseases are politically correct. Living past your working years isn't.
They will institute eugenics vouchers which would eliminate the cost and burden of caring for the dead weight of human waste.
This would apply only to mentally defectives, those with Down’s Syndrome, Autism and the like. Those whose lives are deemed to be to costly to continue as the investment will not provide a meaningful return. The elderly, over 70, 80, 90? Who knows?
Those who breathe too much contributing more CO2 than they should.
This will all be done “For the Greater Good”. This will be done in the name of science and called a social program.
It will be hailed by intellectuals of the scientific community, the leaders of the business community, authors, poets and entertainers.
Research will be supported by major corporations and they spend enormous sums of money advertising the truth of this brave and bold new path.
...to each according to his needs.
But remember,
“when the search for truth is confused with political advocacy, the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power.”
By that measure, there is a huge segment of the population that doesn't work thus aren't "worthy" of support either. The only thing they "produce" is votes for democrats.
“The “rationing” here is what the government will pay. I didn’t see any limitations on what a private individual or insurance carrier can pay.”
As I read the article, what it says about what’s in the bill, it says the government will restrict doctors about what they can prescribe, period, it didn’t say anything about who pays for it. This is worse than Hillary care.
Producing kids is their "work."
Exactly.
Just think, it will solve the Social Security and Medicare spending problem too, if you are over 65, you won't get medicine, because it's not cost effective, so you die. It will all be "for the common good". And this is not a joke, the fact that they are putting this right into the Stiumulus bill, so most people won't even know it's there, is scary.
House stimulus bill says that "more expensive" medical products "will no longer be prescribed."
Does not apply to drugs that treat AIDS or impotence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.