jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Better yet, do you have millions to spend on your baby. A new drug for infants will cost between $1.5 and $5 million dollars.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-costliest-drug-on-the-planet-will-treat-infants-with-rare-disease-the-market-fight-focused-on-cost-and-safety-is-just-getting-started/2019/05/15/aa4bb4d8-6ce8-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html?utm_term=.db25529abeca&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

LCD

One of the absurdities of medical treatment in this country is that someone is expected to pay such amounts of money for an individual patient, while the same amount of is not made available for an any number of low cost interventions that could help hundreds if not thousands of others. Diabetes comes to mind. Am I suggesting that we ignore the one child with this disease to treat the many, playing medical arithmetic with human lives? No. I'm just pointing out this absurdity.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

No argument there - but to get some understanding of why the healthcare system in the US has become such a shit show I suggest you read "An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back" by Elisabeth Rosenthal - she points out the five main culprits are the hospital corporations, the insurance companies, big pharma, the FDA and the AMA. And given the publisher hasn't been sued to high heaven by now we can expect she didn't make this stuff up.

It's definitely worth a read - though it will frustrate you to see what has been going on (hint - it has nothing whatever to do with a free market)

CaptainBobBrown

Thanks so much for the reference to Elisabeth Rosenthal's book. Just bought my own Kindle copy. Looking forward to reading it today. I've been struck by the many stick-em features of the healthcare system since I entered the health care system as a patient, have had surgery, drug purchases, lab testing, and various diagnostic procedures nominally priced at ten's of thousands... and I'm on Medicare which greatly simplifies things. Yet I've been struck by the positive and helpful attitude of all the provider personnel I've been exposed to who have to deal with the stress of a lot of difficult situations at usually very low pay. Our system surely is a sick one but the people on the caregiving side seem unusually representative of the best among us.

jkm757 Loc: San Diego, Ca.

Who needs hundreds of pages of book when a single cartoon will do.

Day.Old.Pizza Loc: Maple Grove, MN

I will only speak for myself when I say that just because something exists doesn’t mean I am entitled to it. If it were true I’d be living, driving and eating better than I am. I sure as heck would have a better camera! Economics eventually narrows the gap between price and availability, but it isn’t instantaneous.

Floyd Loc: Misplaced Texan in Florence, Alabama

Very important factors are not reflected in either portrayal, though both are true. Left: six to nine months waiting period to be seen/treated by a specialist, subtle reduction (read cost effectiveness or lack thereof of the aged; i.e., waiting periods become even longer or non-existent), patients are assigned to specific family practitioners and finally, first responders are under paid and often the best time of arrival on scene exceeds 30 minutes. Medical equipment need is determined by a non medically trained person and often is very outdated everywhere within except hospitals associated with universities and the government right now is trying to have private hospitals and private physician services offering modern equipment and speedy service outlawed because it detracts and takes revenue from governmental facilities.
Left: U.S. Patients have choices of family practitioners and several specialists, waiting periods for care are almost non-existent, first responder arrival on scene times in most situations are five minutes or less, almost all hospitals have very modern equipment and medications are new and more effective.
Says one retiree from 35 years as a health care administrator serving in U.S. and international hospitals.

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

All of these companies don't care about the patient, all they want to do is get rich.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Not untrue - but the FDA ain't a company - though the bureaucrats there come from (or are planning to move over to) the pharmaceutical companies, and so lay in bed with them - that's why the FDA allows an extended patent because a drug company made laser holes in their capsules - earth shaking advancement, right?

In the end, patients are just the currency by which the corporate players make revenues - health improvement is not on their agenda. And of course, with retards in our society who demand a "make me skinny" pill while ordering a supersized Big Mac meal not taking any responsibility for their own health, things just get from bad to worse.

jpgto Loc: North East Tennessee