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Comments
Shouldn't be a surprise
What is surprising is that HIV isn't rising.
Interesting how there are drug company funded car-cards with celebrities touting the new drug regimen, and advertising on the MBTA for people born between 1945 and 1965 to get tested.
On the other hand, $84,000 is cheaper than a liver transplant.
On 23 July the NYT had an
On 23 July the NYT had an article about the cost of treating hepatitis C in Kentucky...."In all, about 16,000 Kentucky Medicaid beneficiaries had a diagnosis of hepatitis C last year, up from 8,000 in 2013...." And...."Last year, Kentucky spent more than $50 million, about 7 percent of its total Medicaid budget, providing two of the new hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, to just 861 people...."
So roughly Kentucky needs to double its entire Medicaid budget to cover the needs of only Hepatitis C clients....I think most of the Medicaid money comes from the Federal gov't....
The drug regimen cures the disease but does not prevent future infections which would require another round of treatments...
The VA Hospital system is
The VA Hospital system is having huge budgetary issues partially due to big explosions in Hep C treatments and how astronomical the costs are. It's crazy.
$84,000? New livers are available for $100
$84,000? Brand new livers are available for $100, now that Planned Parenthood has perfected a "less-crunchy" (their words) method of only crushing the legs and head of the baby while protecting the torso. Heart, lungs, kidneys and pancreas about the same rate. Maybe even a spleen or appendix! Why splurge on the medication?
You still here?
Good God, man! There's a Jade Helm going on as we speak! Why aren't you there with your muzzle-loader defending my sovereign rights? Did the Reds get to you?
Cool story, bro.
Cool story, bro.
Well ya it costs $100, they
Well ya it costs $100, they are so much smaller. Economies of scale. Plus all the abortions mean a huge supply glut pushing down the price. Poor people are just popping them out after their welfare paid lobster dinner.
You get a 6/10 on the troll factor, not bad, you could do better.
Fishy is just excited about
Fishy is just excited about receiving his invite from Ernie Boch Jr. to listen to Mr. Trump on August 28. If you bring your guitar, maybe you'll be able to jam with....
Fava beans and a nice Chianti
Dude, those aren't for transplant. They're a delicacy.
Explain to me, oh wise one
Why are righties all up in arms against the welfare generation (rightfully so in many cases, I might add,) yet they're also against abortion? What do you think happens to the vast majority of the unplanned/unwanted babies who don't get aborted? Do they magically end up in a loving rich family, or do they end up on welfare rolls cradle to grave just like their mother, paid for taxpayers like you?
Banning abortion
does not make abortion not happen. It raises the price.
If abortion is illegal and you're a parent in Wellesley, and your daughter says she's pregnant and it's a threat to her future plans, you will correctly calculate that the cost of days off work + expedited passport + flight and lodging to/from Halifax or Montreal is cheaper than raising a baby, dip into your savings, and fly your kid to Canada for an abortion. Heck, you probably have a friend who's done the same thing and can help you out.
If you're a parent in Roxbury, you don't have the savings to dip into, the job that gives you time off, or the know-how to navigate international travel and medical services. Ergo, you save the few thousand dollars laid out initially, and end up spending way more of your own or the government's money to raise that child.
Hey, Fish!
How many of those non aborted babies are you supporting?
.
*eye roll*
It's the Heroin
Quite dramatic story, and ultimately a sad but preventable situation.
But for the most part, the HepC is mostly irrelevant for now, assuming you can get people to be more careful and not spread their disease. The risks and damage associated with heroin OD are much more immediate. HIV remains a big risk as well (see "Indiana HIV outbreak").
HepC, for most people, takes ten to thirty years to manifest itself symptomatically, and longer to be life threatening. By that time, victims who contracted it by IV drug use are likely either dead (don't need treatment), clean (will have sought it treatment already or will have no trouble getting it), or have bigger health problems.
Right now, the HepC drugs are expensive, and if you stop the regimen for some reason you're not likely to get another chance from your insurance company. That's a big gamble for an addict, especially ones who might be at risk for re-infection.
In even five years, the price will be much lower, with more companies competing, and the treatments will be even more effective. Depending on individual circumstances, health care dollars are probably better spent on those who have their lives together right now, and just test and monitor those in the at-risk population while encouraging IV hygiene.
And any treatment denials that happen because of substance abuse are nothing compared to the testing that will happen if you need a liver transplant. They won't waste an organ on someone who'll destroy it.
The situation sucks and is unforgiving, but for most of the people described, HepC is a relatively minor health risk factor.