Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

Grow up......Paul went for a specific surgery that is performed Best in Class by the facility he went to

sbohne

Not brain surgery...a fcking HERNIA.

awesome14 Loc: UK

NO!, drug companies are responsible for the high cost of drugs. Drug companies in the USA lobbied congress to write Medicare Part D suchwise that the government is legally forbidden to use its massive buying power to negotiate lower prices from drug companies.

The newest hepatitis C drugs sell for $60,000-$90,000 per full treatment. I think they could probably sell for less and still generate a profit. The generation of antivirals before that sold for $30,000 per treatment. I think those could have been sold more cheaply also.

The US FDA (hired guns for the pharmaceutical cartel) is holding up approval of insulin that competes with the major 2 available currently.

And, $8,400/year for health insurance doesn't sound like a lot. Many routine procedures cost insurance companies in the tens of thousands of dollars. For more complicated procedures it can easily run into 6 figures.

LittleRed

Yes,it's not brain surgery. But do we know exactly what type of hernia Rand has, where it's located and how serious it is or can become. Hard to judge anyone without all the facts. If you had a serious problem would you not want the best place,doctors to correct it? I think this is what Rand is thinking. He is going to the Shouldice Hernia Clinic inToronto,Ontario, Canada. This clinic performs NOTHING but hernia surgeries, they are that good. They are beyond doubt the world's leading centre of excellence in hernia repair. It is reported that they have a 99% lifetime rate for repairing hernias which is the gold standard. Almost all hernia repairs are done using your own natural tissue rather than the artificial mesh one. Much less problems when using a part of yourself don't you think. I know some people locally who had the hernia repaired in our city using mesh whom had to go to the Shouldice Clinic to have the repair repaired. There maybe some of this at the
Shouldice Clinic but I've never heard or seen any report of one. Also you must remember that a person from the USA would be getting a 30% discount due to the dollar differences. But that probably is not a concern of Rand. But it probably would be others whom don't have hernia coverage.
I know if I ever had a problem with a hernia I'd make a beeline to the front door of that Clinic where I know that what I would get will be premium service. Even though the cost of the surgery would be covered by our "socialized" medicine coverage I would be on the hook on expenses to get there and stay there till the procedure is completed. But it sure as hell would be worth it IMHO! Anyhow's, I would just apply it to my yearly income tax as a expense. I don't blame Rand to try and get the best treatment for his ails, something I don't doubt everyone of us Hoggers would do likewise.

LittleRed (Ron)
Ontario, Canada

sbohne

My entire point is: this prick is AGAINST Medicare for All, or socialized medicine for average Americans, yet he will use it for his privileged self. Again: disingenuous hypocritical Conservative. Par for the course.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

I think the market works a little bit different with commodity cameras than medicine, or even higher end cameras for that matter.

hondo812 Loc: Massachusetts

Humalog is the brand name for insulin lispro, which is an analog insulin produced in a laboratory using recombinant DNA technology. At this time, there are no generic versions available for this form of insulin. Humalog is produced by Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company.

You'll get no argument from me as to what should...

Animal insulin is extracted from the pancreases of dead pigs (Porcine Insulin) and cattle (Bovine / Beef Insulin).

Unfortunately some diabetics have extreme sensitivity regarding dosage...(4 units is not enough and 5 is too much)

Enter Humalog. Like the description up top this is similar to Monsanto's corn in that it is genetically engineered. Monsanto has been given a patent on "life" literally. Same deal with Humalog and any other G/E medicines. I'm not even sure if you can get animal insulin in this country anymore. Don't forget the $10,000 pumps to go with it. There was a very good article in "the New Yorker" or "NYT" a few years back getting into this exact topic but I can't seem to find it.

jcboy3

Capitalism at work.

wds0410 Loc: Nunya

You do realize he is paying for the procedure out of his own money, right? So your point about him using socialized medicine for his privileged self isn't valid or true.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

Stay there till the procedure is completed? I had my hernia repaired 30 years ago and I was only there a couple of hours.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

Do I get to pick what type of bug?

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

In Adam Smith’s case, his writings. In Ayn’s case, how she lived the last days of her life.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

What many overlook is the cost of bringing a new drug to market. Over 500 million. Some one has to pay for it. Drug companies are not in the business of making drugs they are in the business of making money. Many scream for thye end of "big pharma", they are GREEDY hateful and should be greatly curtailed. Are there abuses. yes. Would it be better if prices would be more fair, yes. But if you want new treatments for any number of conditions, those prices must remain. That may not be fair but that's just the way it is.

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

I know these drugs can get ridiculously expensive. We can all waste each other's time complaining. Or, you can look up my previous thread. It had some websites for drugs for indigent patients. I can't promise HUGE savings but something. If you don't look then you folks are just flapping your gums. By the way, I can be privately messaged. (I expect my email box to explode)

pendennis

To expand on your point, there are any number of countries in Europe which don't develop any new drugs, either because they discourage drug development because of tax policy, or they've become dependent on socialized medicine and the efforts of those countries which do.

Drugs, as with any new product don't just pop up, ready to prescribe. One of the toughest markets to penetrate, even for domestic companies, is the U.S. The FDA is a very conservative organization. They don't take for granted tests performed in other countries. Thalidomide was a prime example of a lack of complex testing.

Most people who complain about "large pharma" don't have a clue just what goes into developing drugs.