Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis have some benefits but can be prohibitively pricey
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-ms-drugs-20110720,0,3636799.story
“It’s not enough to bring a new medication to market — the cost-effectiveness of the drug must be considered as well. A study finds there is a high price for some drugs used to treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis compared with medications that treat other chronic diseases.”
Note the “prohibitively” part especially.
That is the whole idea of INSURANCE — nobody knows what diseases they may get or accidents that can happen. That is why they have a pool of insureds of all types. It may or may not happen to any one person, but if it does, you are supposed to be covered and treated.
But if government is the one insuring you — as in obamacare, the most “cost-effective” thing is to NOT treat you, just go away and die quietly.
“That is the whole idea of INSURANCE — nobody knows what diseases they may get or accidents that can happen.”
Insurance involves coverage for catastrophic events. Medical insurance however has evolved into a combination of insurance, warranty, and income redistribution. Given the aging population, even insurance is difficult to provide. The idea that someone else should pay for your routine medical care puts the idea of insurance at grave risk. A warranty is prepaid maintenance. However, medical insurance has evoled into someone else paying for your routine care. Warranties rarely cover routine maintenance such as oil changes. Medical insurance is burdened with incredible levels of routine care now extended with the principle that no copays can be required for routine preventative care including birth control.
Our medical system will collapse from the weight of excess demand, price controls, and government rationing schemes. I think that you will need to find care outside of the government scheme to get competent care. I think that Indian reservations may provide a haven for private care outside of the government system.
Also please consider low dose Naltrexone which has shown very good clinical results:
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ldn_and_ms.htm
Regards,
Lurking’