As long as the doctors who are treating the kids determine that Ryoncil is what is needed to save a life, then the insurance will pay.
US insurance isn't national insurance like many countries have (I assume Australia has national insurance). There isn't an implicit preference to let people die unless the treatment is cheap enough. In fact, the US healthcare system (insurance system) is built on the premise that people should be kept alive.
As for the argument that a company is profiting off the life of kids. GMAFB. That's the whole reason any drug company exist. It's why any for profit hospital exists. It's why doctors exist. It's literally why any system that provides care exist. If you are sick, you exchange some money in return for getting better - capitalism at work.
Now, not everyone in the USA has traditional insurance. But, everyone in the USA can get covered care. Those who don't have insurance through their parents have coverage through a program called CHIP - Children's Health Insurance Plan. Coverage varies from state to state, however.
Fact remains that any child who has completed any sort of transplant would already have some sort of insurance. A bone marrow transplant costs between $200,000 and $500,000 and can rise higher with complications. That's just for the transplant. An insurance company who paid that much for the transplant isn't going to be delaying paying more to cure a condition that happens in roughly 50% of transplant cases. Here's another factoid - given that GVHD occurs in such a high percent of cases, the insurance company would have factored in the cost of the GVHD treatment in the overall treatment costs.
Oh well, FUDDers will be FUDDers.
MSB Price at posting:
$2.52 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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