2 ms·

I think it's probably more of a psychological issue. I doubt even a Roman emperor would really care if he got this disease, since he wouldn't know about the cur

I think it's probably more of a psychological issue. I doubt even a Roman emperor would really care if he got this disease, since he wouldn't know about the cure. It'd be God's will, or something, and he'd die in a warm bed with warm memories. If you or somebody you cared about suffered from this disease, and knew a cure existed, and knew that cure was out of your reach because you didn't have the money to pay for it (or lived in a system that privatized gains and socialized losses), you'd feel a great deal of emotional pain. You wouldn't die the same way. Saying $2.1M is a bargain because the other solution is $23.2M is like saying the $SOCIAL_MEDIA_APP terms and conditions are fair because they're available and you should have read it in full as a preteen. It doesn't account for human nature and gives a cold shoulder to factual reality. It's not kind or empathetic to a lot of people, even if it is fair and just. That's where I think why people talk past each other a lot about healthcare. Full disclosure: I am a software engineer in the U.S. who had his life saved about 32 times in the E.R. in Canada from supra-ventricular tachycardia. I grew up in lesser means and I might be dead or my family bankrupted had I grew up in the U.S. and paid the fair ER fees each time. So I owe Canada my life, and a blood debt I really can't pay off in my lifetime. I'm certainly not unbiased.

cc81 7y ago
I live in Sweden and there will be debates about things like this as well because often these treatments are about improving lives compared to alternative treatments. So for a rare disease there might exist a current treatment that results in them being bedridden and unable to feed themselves without an assistant. But with this new treatment the patient will be able to move around themselves in a wheel chair and feed themselves with some minor aid from an assistant. How much more expensive can such a treatment be for it to be worth it? If you are the person involved the difference in life would be immense and worth any money but for someone on the outside those millions might be better spent on other care.
TheOperator 7y ago
>I grew up in lesser means and I might be dead or my family bankrupted had I grew up in the U.S. and paid the fair ER fees each time. >or What an optimist you are!

cc81 7y ago

I live in Sweden and there will be debates about things like this as well because often these treatments are about improving lives compared to alternative treatments. So for a rare disease there might exist a current treatment that results in them being bedridden and unable to feed themselves without an assistant. But with this new treatment the patient will be able to move around themselves in a wheel chair and feed themselves with some minor aid from an assistant. How much more expensive can such a treatment be for it to be worth it? If you are the person involved the difference in life would be immense and worth any money but for someone on the outside those millions might be better spent on other care.

TheOperator 7y ago

>I grew up in lesser means and I might be dead or my family bankrupted had I grew up in the U.S. and paid the fair ER fees each time. >or What an optimist you are!