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I liked the part in Elysium where they had a magical science machine on another planet that they could use to heal anything, but they only used it for rich whit

I liked the part in Elysium where they had a magical science machine on another planet that they could use to heal anything, but they only used it for rich white people because they're evil. I also liked that the machine must have run on sunshine and gumdrops and cost $0 to use because of course that is how health care works, we definitely have the means to heal every person on the planet, the only thing preventing us from doing so is evil white people.

StudentStuff 8y ago
Note that rich white people witholding medical care =/= white people. It is a huge distinction, and seemingly refers to how more and more treatments and cures are being priced to extract the most money possible, heavily restricting who has access. Hepatitis C is curable, but it is purposefully priced out of reach for much of the affected population, hoping that the local government will pick up the tab. Epi Pens have skyrocketed in price over the past few years, and the manufacturer that makes them has claimed that there is a shortage of the generic version, while plentiful supplies of the on brand version. This is Late Stage Capitalism.
- zaroth 8y ago
  Purposefully priced? Gilead did pay $11 billion to acquire Pharmasset and at one point was facing a $2.5 billion patent infringement ruling (later overturned) for that same drug. AbbVie’s a new entrant which can treat certain strains at at about a third the cost. Damn that Late Stage Capitalism developing a miracle cure for Hep C which is painless and effective.
  - Pharmakon 8y ago
    This is the same AbbVie who’s treatment costs $26,000 right? I think it’s fair to say that’s priced well out of reach for most people, whatever the cost relative to Gilead’s product, which the CEO apologized for. The same AbbVie that sued the NHS? https://outline.com/brsHyA https://outline.com/brsHyA Incidentally Gilead made $5.8 billion in a single quarter so I think we can safely assume they managed to defray the cost of acquiring Pharmasset, don’t you think? Companies making tens of billions a year while poor people suffer and die does seem to be a fairly negative situation, however you care to label it.
  - RugnirViking 8y ago
    I simply refuse to believe that treatments that cost the same as a brand new luxury car are down to labour + materials cost of some pills. There are absurdly massive inefficiencies if as you say they aren't making profits.
dTal 8y ago
A major purpose of science fiction is to examine the present through the exaggerated lens of a possible future. Can you really think of no present-day examples of high-capital-expense, low-marginal-cost, highly-effective medical care being priced away from a large chunk of the population? If you can't, I'll do you one better - worldwide, infant diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old. It can be treated with pennies worth of clean water, sugar, and salt. It can be prevented just by providing access to clean water. We absolutely have the resources to heal every child on the planet of this disease, if we cared.

StudentStuff 8y ago

Note that rich white people witholding medical care =/= white people. It is a huge distinction, and seemingly refers to how more and more treatments and cures are being priced to extract the most money possible, heavily restricting who has access. Hepatitis C is curable, but it is purposefully priced out of reach for much of the affected population, hoping that the local government will pick up the tab. Epi Pens have skyrocketed in price over the past few years, and the manufacturer that makes them has claimed that there is a shortage of the generic version, while plentiful supplies of the on brand version. This is Late Stage Capitalism.

zaroth 8y ago
Purposefully priced? Gilead did pay $11 billion to acquire Pharmasset and at one point was facing a $2.5 billion patent infringement ruling (later overturned) for that same drug. AbbVie’s a new entrant which can treat certain strains at at about a third the cost. Damn that Late Stage Capitalism developing a miracle cure for Hep C which is painless and effective.
- Pharmakon 8y ago
  This is the same AbbVie who’s treatment costs $26,000 right? I think it’s fair to say that’s priced well out of reach for most people, whatever the cost relative to Gilead’s product, which the CEO apologized for. The same AbbVie that sued the NHS? https://outline.com/brsHyA https://outline.com/brsHyA Incidentally Gilead made $5.8 billion in a single quarter so I think we can safely assume they managed to defray the cost of acquiring Pharmasset, don’t you think? Companies making tens of billions a year while poor people suffer and die does seem to be a fairly negative situation, however you care to label it.
- RugnirViking 8y ago
  I simply refuse to believe that treatments that cost the same as a brand new luxury car are down to labour + materials cost of some pills. There are absurdly massive inefficiencies if as you say they aren't making profits.

dTal 8y ago

A major purpose of science fiction is to examine the present through the exaggerated lens of a possible future. Can you really think of no present-day examples of high-capital-expense, low-marginal-cost, highly-effective medical care being priced away from a large chunk of the population? If you can't, I'll do you one better - worldwide, infant diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old. It can be treated with pennies worth of clean water, sugar, and salt. It can be prevented just by providing access to clean water. We absolutely have the resources to heal every child on the planet of this disease, if we cared.