On Change We'd LIKE to Believe In

Jonathan Rockoff writes in The Wall Street Journal,

“Four years ago, Pfizer Inc. was on the verge of abandoning a cancer therapy that had shown little promise. Then scientists discovered it did work, but only in people with a particular genetic anomaly—as few as 6,000 patients a year in the U.S.

In recent years, Pfizer probably wouldn't have considered such a small market worth further investment, company employees say. Yet today, that experimental therapy is Xalkori, newly approved for a rare form of lung cancer, for which Pfizer plans to charge $115,200 a year per patient.” (August 30, 2011)

So, what if you are one of the 6,000 who could benefit from this drug but don’t happen to have $115,200 per year?  This is the fear that nags at many Americans and is precisely why a number of them voted for Barak Obama for president when he promised health care reform.  The vast majority of Americans have health insurance that covers most illnesses or accidental injuries they might confront.  Their fear is that they or a member of their family will suffer a catastrophic illness or injury for which cost of treatment even with insurance will far exceed the limits of their financial resources.

Families are required to consume all of their personal resources before the government provides medical assistance.  I find it unconscionable that hard working, middle class citizens cannot afford to get sick in the richest, most prosperous country in the world.  I believe that when candidate Obama spoke so passionately about the need for health care reform he implied, and most voters believed, he was proposing to provide a safety net to protect families from financial ruin resulting from catastrophic circumstances.  This is not what he, Nancy and Harry delivered.  

I do not necessarily believe the current program should be repealed.  It does provide coverage to many who need it.  It needs to be fixed.  It needs a middle class safety net.

#justsayin