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Re: America: It's Time to Snap Out of the Pro-Death Trance
Posted by: Sonia Arrison 2011-07-20 22:24:41
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A Swedish hospital recently announced that a cancer patient was saved after doctors grew him a new windpipe in the lab using a synthetic structure and the man's own stem cells. That might have sounded like science fiction just a few years ago, but today it is landmark news. Regenerative medicine has the ability to usher in radically longer and healthier lives, yet few are considering the implications. The ability to grow new replacement parts for humans when original organs break down is a game-changer when it comes to extending human "health spans" -- the amount of time one is alive and healthy.
I believe we would if we wanted to live we will live we will it's human nature to want to survive not just human but animal we all want to live more then the person next to us wither we believe it of ourselves or not, and sadly it wont be the poor or the less fortunate that get these treatments it will be the rich the wealthy the people that can get the treatment above other people this is how it's always been how it always will be. It's sad the world has not changed and that no matter how we kid ourselves there will always be someone lesser then ourselves but this is freedom Darwin is right Its survival of the fittest to the end. and the fit just happen to be the rich and more fortunate. sorry to be a debby downer.
The problem is who is gonna pick up the check?
Posted by: hairyfeet 2011-07-27 07:49:30 In reply to: Sonia Arrison
NSTAAFL ya know,somebody has to pay the incredible costs for these 'miracles of modern medicine' and with both the Ds and the Rs refusing to put any kind of caps on drug prices the bill is gonna get pretty hefty.
My grandma recently died at the age of 95 and while I am grateful for every minute we had with her knowing that last year probably cost the state a good $170,000+ just for her frequent trips to the hospital does make it hard to justify. And we were lucky that she was VERY healthy right up to the end. What about those with lifelong illnesses?
I have a relative on disability and the drug he is on is called Remicade and currently costs $98,000 a year and he will have to be on it for life. he is 43 and because the state would take away his medicare/caid if he worked he has to sit at home even though the Remicade is like a miracle and makes him almost normal. Its a total catch 22 where he needs the drug to be able to work but if he works he loses the drug and then can't work.
So who pays the bill? The only thing we can get congress to agree on is the 1%ers and big pharma should get blank checks so prices are gonna go nowhere but up, the downside of all these "miracles" is they rarely cure anything, only treat, which means years or decades taking these crazy priced meds, and already medicare/caid is quickly becoming a black hole. Personally I'd be happy for a single payer system with caps on prices like the EU but it is obvious that is never gonna happen here. So who pays? Do we end up paying 60%+ in taxes and insurance premiums just try to tread water, do we end up with "death panels" to decide who gets to live and who doesn't, how do we pay for these miracles?
My grandma recently died at the age of 95 and while I am grateful for every minute we had with her knowing that last year probably cost the state a good $170,000+ just for her frequent trips to the hospital does make it hard to justify. And we were lucky that she was VERY healthy right up to the end. What about those with lifelong illnesses?
I have a relative on disability and the drug he is on is called Remicade and currently costs $98,000 a year and he will have to be on it for life. he is 43 and because the state would take away his medicare/caid if he worked he has to sit at home even though the Remicade is like a miracle and makes him almost normal. Its a total catch 22 where he needs the drug to be able to work but if he works he loses the drug and then can't work.
So who pays the bill? The only thing we can get congress to agree on is the 1%ers and big pharma should get blank checks so prices are gonna go nowhere but up, the downside of all these "miracles" is they rarely cure anything, only treat, which means years or decades taking these crazy priced meds, and already medicare/caid is quickly becoming a black hole. Personally I'd be happy for a single payer system with caps on prices like the EU but it is obvious that is never gonna happen here. So who pays? Do we end up paying 60%+ in taxes and insurance premiums just try to tread water, do we end up with "death panels" to decide who gets to live and who doesn't, how do we pay for these miracles?
