Obscanity: You'll know it when you see it

Don’t Need To Be a Rocket Scientist | TPM.

So it’s come to this… the facts truly no longer have a place in the debate, at least on the Right.

Then again, did they ever?

Incidentally, those two medications, Lapatinib and Sutent? Sutent was rejected by the UK because it costs too much. But many US insurance companies also refuse to pay for the drug, or have obscene copayments for it – largely because it is so BLATANTLY overpriced! One year of treatment for one person costs about £24,000. That is roughly $40,000. And that’s the price for the UK’s national health service. For an oral medication. I’m not saying an extra year of life isn’t worth it – maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, depending on the patient’s own view of his/her condition. But in addition to restructuring our national health system, I think it’s also critical for us to think about what is a reasonable price for the medications these massive pharmaceutical companies are developing. I understand that it takes money to research and develop these medications. I also understand that these companies are making profits we can’t even imagine. Profits are important, but you can produce on a smaller profit margin and still have an incentive to keep going. So even as we think about what insurance companies should cover, maybe we also need to think about whether $40,000 for one year of medication for one person is a reasonable price to charge in the first place.

And while we’re on the subject… raise your hand if your private insurance has refused to cover something WAY freaking cheaper than $40,000, or has required a copay that really struck below the belt? You can focus on random examples of ways in which certain countries’ national health systems are deficient, but when it comes down to it, Americans are still getting screwed on a daily basis by their private insurance companies, which get away with a hell of a lot more.

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