That’s what I figured. There’s a lot I don’t know.
But my gut reflex is the suck. Mostly for items like Epipens, insulin, etc. that have been around for a long,long time. The cost of pharmaceuticals in other countries also fuels my knee-jerk reaction. And I know my opinion is not very well informed.
Yes, the epipen thing is obscene. The cost of established medications should only drop over time. The cost of research into new medications is extreme, and for medications that treat relatively few people the cost per dose can be very very high as there aren't that many consumers to amortize the cost of the research AND provide a profitable outcome for the investors. Like it or not, pharmaceuticals are a for-profit business and the investors in the company demand a return on their investments - that's part of business. In a country like ours that somehow doesn't seem to feel it's necessary to provide healthcare for all for the overall well being of the society, individuals without good insurance can get stuck with amazing bills - or just not be able to pay for treatments that could save lives.
I regularly hear about diabetics who can't afford insulin - that seems horrendous. Yet I was able to buy our dog human insulin at Walmart for a very reasonable price. Where's the disconnect? Well...it's that research is coming up with more and more effective treatments through research and development. A diabetic for whom basic human insulin at Walmart is no longer effective would probably have had a much shorter life 50+ years ago, plain and simple. Our poor and underinsured people in this society basically live behind the R&D curve.
And yet...just Friday we talked some about the coming overpopulation of the earth. Advances in medicine have been a double-edged sword in that respect. Disease and epidemic used to be a great tool of nature to keep populations in check. Our own innovations are removing that natural balance - we are so death-adverse that an epidemic is seen as an evil thing; in truth, it's a natural system that balances ecosystems. I have seen articles talking about research that looks into how we can live "forever" - that would be a truly horrible thing for the planet.
So yeah - it's an incredibly complex thing. There is terrible greed among the pharmaceutical industry. There is also incredible, and expensive, innovation there as well. Every advance that extends our lives, however, also deepens the population problem on this planet. Would I see an end to medical innovation? No. Would I see medicine denied to people unequitably? No. Do I recognize that we've got a problem? Yes. It's another one of those things in the growing list of "I don't know what the answer to this could be..."