[larrik]

That's how a lot of stuff starts, and then the price goes down while the kinks are worked out.

I don't really know what the alternative is here...

[1024core]

> That's how a lot of stuff starts, and then the price goes down while the kinks are worked out.

By that logic, Insulin would be dirt cheap today, right?

Hint: it is not.

[themaninthedark]

What is considered dirt cheap?

One kind of insulin can be bought for ~$25 at Walmart.

Now, this means that you have to monitor you sugar levels, have a restrictive diet, etc. All things that are very restrictive but better than dying that people did when insulin treatment was first being developed.

Now we have newer, reformulated insulin that allows for a more permissive lifestyle. That is expensive.

Should the newer stuff be cheaper? It certainly allows for a greater QOL and took time and money to research.

[simplyinfinity]

My grandmother is on insulin which the Bulgarian government mostly pays for, the rest is equal to about 50 euro/month or 55 usd. So it's practically free for us. The US has f-ed up healthcare. Change that.

[evandijk70]

Compared to more recent drugs, it is

[thatfrenchguy]

> and then the price goes down

US health insurance costs are up 20% since last year.

[shadowgovt]

The US system's drug payment policies being broken is somewhat independent of the net utility of developing new drugs for the world at large.

[themaninthedark]

By how much did the health insurance industry and hospital administration grow?