[MaybiusStrip]

You do realize that insurance companies have to charge people more money than they spend in order to be profitable, right? Exorbitant drug costs is just another one of the factors that price poor people out of insurance, which is actually a much worse outcome than simply denying access to that specific drug.

[juliangoldsmith]

The price of the drugs is amortized over everyone with insurance. The drug in question has a total potential audience of around 2000 people in the United States, if I remember correctly, so that means the cost of the treatment will be spread very widely.

Also, the drug he raised the price on was a horrible 50-year-old drug. Shkreli raised the price with the explicit aim of getting funds to research a new drug, with less terrible side-effects.

[rainieri]

Never mind the fact that he offered the drug for free to those in that 2000 group of people that couldn't afford it. People should read into why he really went to jail. The toxoplasmosis drug has very little to do with it and a lot of companies do the same with little repercussion.

[throwaway84742]

The drug he was selling is used to treat a pretty rare disease, so it made little to no effect on the overall cost of insurance. And even at a higher price it was a good deal to insurance companies who would have to spend massively more if this drug wasn’t available at all.