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Recently health insurers were crying that Sovaldi will cut into their profits by up to 10% due to the cost associated with a hepatitis C treatmen/Cure from Gilead, which is an outstanding $84000 for a full regimen of treatment.
I honestly could give less a crap about the for profit health insurance industry, as they are (in my opinion) part of the problem that is wrong with American health care. However, that is why I am not upset. The reason why I am upset is because that same drug, which costs $84K in the US for a full dose of treatment, only costs $900 for the same amount of treatment in Saudi Arabia.
They want to price it based on per capita income. But yet, the cost to develop the drug is still the same. So why do Saudi's get a HUGE discount while my fellow American's are allowed to be price gouge? Can any one freaking defend this!!!!!!!
I laugh at liberals... first they want a system where the better off pay more for the same things or even to get none of the benefits... then they complain when that standard is applied to the world... or more importantly when THEY have to pay...
That is not my point. The issue here is because of the cost, i wouldn't be surprised if insurers decide to drop it our of their formularies because of the costs. If the drug was sold at the same price in Saudi Arabia, you wouldn't even need insurance (well that depends, but lets say a middle class individual has a nest egg saved). You could receive treatment with cash outright and actually afford. My outrage is at the disparity in prices between different countries
Developing a drug can cost billions, for every hit they have X amount of misses and the cost of all those misses is rolled into the one drug they can sell. One of the main issues here is because of price controls in many countries the US consumer is subsidizing the rest of the world. Then you have countries like India that are not honoring patents, of course they can sell it for nothing because they don't have the extraordinary cost of development. They are reaping the benefits without the costs.
It is kind of a double edged sword. I realize big pharma is gouging the public, but who will fund billions of dollars in research needed to bring these drugs to market. If it weren't for big pharma, we would be living in the middle ages as far as medicine goes.
It is kind of a double edged sword. I realize big pharma is gouging the public, but who will fund billions of dollars in research needed to bring these drugs to market. If it weren't for big pharma, we would be living in the middle ages as far as medicine goes.
Big pharma would still make money if, say, the US government was allowed to use its huge bargaining power to net better prices for pharmaceuticals through even its Medicare pool. (Which our last president explicitly disallowed).
They'd just make less money. But still a LOT of money.
It is kind of a double edged sword. I realize big pharma is gouging the public, but who will fund billions of dollars in research needed to bring these drugs to market. If it weren't for big pharma, we would be living in the middle ages as far as medicine goes.
Well would we? I mean think about how todays society is run. When you go to a doctor , right away you are prescribed a pill. Everything nowadays is pills and long term treatments. We dont even know the long term ill effects on certain things , people are dying at younger ages these days, and heart attacks are getting out of control. People on meds for depression turn into lunatics.
We have so much garbage and chemicals in the foods we eat. There is nothing organic in this country , everything is always a revisited treatment. Why in other countries certain drugs are legal and CURE but here in the states its illegal. Certain practices are banned here in the states but in other countries its not.
Imagine if i could charge you for pills that slowly treat you but dont fully cure you. Thats a revolving door for you to keep coming in to see a doctor and pay for more pills and visits. I do believe we have some things that generally do work but as a whole , medical and health is the biggest legal scam to the american citizens.
There is a reason that most medical innovations and new drugs come from the USA, money. Money for research, money for profits. We have the best medical care in the world in terms of quality of care, the worst in terms of affordability. We also fund innovations that end up being available to the users of cheap medical care that the rest of the world enjoys. Just like we fund their military defense. It is past time that we stop playing Sugar Daddy to the rest of the world, especially all our fellow developed nations that can afford to take care of themselves.
Recently health insurers were crying that Sovaldi will cut into their profits by up to 10% due to the cost associated with a hepatitis C treatmen/Cure from Gilead, which is an outstanding $84000 for a full regimen of treatment.
I honestly could give less a crap about the for profit health insurance industry, as they are (in my opinion) part of the problem that is wrong with American health care. However, that is why I am not upset. The reason why I am upset is because that same drug, which costs $84K in the US for a full dose of treatment, only costs $900 for the same amount of treatment in Saudi Arabia.
They want to price it based on per capita income. But yet, the cost to develop the drug is still the same. So why do Saudi's get a HUGE discount while my fellow American's are allowed to be price gouge? Can any one freaking defend this!!!!!!!
1. You SHOULD worry about the profits, that's what pays most retirement funds.
2. Lower profits = higher prices to make up for the profits, so, you and I will make up the difference anyway.
3. Insurance company doesn't set the price.
4. Saudi Arabia doesn't get a discount, the discount being offered is to EGYPT, and it's the manufacturer's decision.
Other countries are getting a discount too, the cost of the program in Germany is $66,000 USD and in the UK $57,000 USD. (the latter of course being covered by the NHS so patients will most likely pay 8.05 GBP ($13.37USD)
As usual Americans will pay most for this drug either directly or through healthcare premiums.
I found these numbers on Reuters and dailytech.com
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