Posted on 12/21/2022 1:33:51 AM PST by blueplum
WASHINGTON (AP) — Too many Americans are missing out on a cure for hepatitis C, and a study underway in a hard-hit corner of Kentucky is exploring a simple way to start changing that.
The key: On-the-spot diagnosis to replace today’s multiple-step testing....
...Testing isn’t the only hurdle. A full course of hepatitis C pills costs about $24,000 -- much less than when they first hit the market but enough that many states still restrict which Medicaid patients are treated...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Naomi Judd helped change America’s view of those who contracted Hep C. Unfortunately the cost of treatment is still prohibitive:
“In 1990 Naomi Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis C that she contracted as a result of a needle stick injury when she worked as a nurse....
https://liverfoundation.org/resource-center/blog/naomi-judd-she-changed-how-america-looked-at-hepatitis-and-liver-disease/#:~:text=In%201990%20Naomi%20Judd%20was%20diagnosed%20with%20hepatitis,the%20touring%20rigors%20of%20her%20country%20music%20stardom.
Research is expensive. It’s too bad that there was no way to help Big Pharma lower their costs on research. I think, if it could make a difference, to start a charitable foundation to pay for research so that Big Pharma doesn’t have to bear the full costs of their research and help them bring down the costs further and faster.
The chemicals for almost all pharmaceuticals is cheap to produce, but the research to find the right combination of chemicals is what is expensive.
Even worse, all that research money goes into a product which the company controls for only a set amount of years (before generics can be created) = so it can be very difficult to recoup costs (and the media will screech if they even try to do so).
There is little incentive in much of the world to do the R&D.
Not to mention that Europe steals US information in the medical journals about pharmaceuticals, in order to produce their own, which helps subsidize their public healthcare.
“And new infections are surging among younger adults who share drug needles.”
i’m having a hard time seeing why we workers have to pay $24,000 for the consequences of illegal and insane behavior by folks who don’t contribute ... do they get to keep on sharing needles while being “cured” for free? ... do we have to pay $24,000 AGAIN when they infect themselves again? is this like Narcan, only WAY, WAY, WAY more expensive?
The societal cost of liver cancer, etc. is more than 24K per person and those pills almost always work, it’s miraculous, really.
Medicaid is welfare. Medicare is earned. But who gets greater attention?
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