Ethics and Biologics

On Ars Technica, there is an article Dubious $56,000 Alzheimer’s drug spurs largest Medicare price hike ever. I wrote this comment after reading the article and a lot of the comments which followed it:

Auguste_Fivaz Ars Centurion et Subscriptor
Nov 15, 2021 9:05 PM

I’m on medicare part B with a gap policy. I also have severe Rheumatoid arthritis. My doctors have been recommending a form of treatment for RA called biologics – you have seen the ads on TV for psoriasis for some of these drugs, painting a pretty picture of people overcoming all kinds of things when their skin clears up or playing with their grandkids because they can walk again.

Last week, the rheumatologist and I had a heart to heart about the real costs of say Humiria if I got a Rx plan (part D) via Medicare. Part D + part B + medi-gap, he guessed, would cost me about $8,000 per year out of pocket after all my insurance paid their parts.

The drug package was pretty neat, kind of like unboxing a Nvidia GTX 3080, but inside you have a self injecting pump along with all the fancy cardboard and high quality literature. I would get one of these every week until I die or there are complications. If I start this, I can not get an infection, a pleasing thought in times like this.

Yes, I am on a strong DMARD now but it has stopped working as well as it should. I need to do this drug or something similar or I lose 10 years of life if I continue without it, just one of many downsides to RA.

I am morally against buying this. It isn’t even the cost, it is the principle of using insurance to rip me and the government off and giving these leaches one fucking cent more. I can ask the VA to supply this drug at a substantial savings to me and I am actually thinking NO, FUCK PHARMA.

But, the consequences of taking a moral stand are real. Alternatives are to ask Canada to take us in, not a real option, I’ve not heard of a drug-pricing asylum status for elderly Americans.