As we have already written about here, pharmacy giant Gilead recently debuted a new game changing medication to cure hepatitis C, Sovaldi. Sovaldi costs $1,000 per pill or $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment. This has set off a frenzy in the pharmaceutical industry as others companies hustle to get in on the action and release their own even quicker, more effective, lower-side-effect hep C treatments and get a share of the massive “market” of people with this deadly disease.
The pharmaceutical companies are happy, but the insurance companies, not so much. President of the insurance industry’s trade association America’s Health Insurance Plans Karen Ignani said regarding the price of Sovaldi: “The company in this case is asking for a blank check which, if granted, will blow up employer benefit costs …. and wreak havoc on the federal debt.”
Apologists for the pharmaceutical industry have countered with some true facts: treating hep C with Sovaldi, while costly in the short run, is less expensive in the long run than taking care of someone who is dying from liver disease or providing a liver transplant.
This debate between Big Pharma and Big Insurance is mired entirely within a framework of pro-capitalist assumptions. If we take away the profit motive, providing healthcare to all becomes a human right and obligation for society at large. Scientists would seek to develop new and better medications not because a company wants to make a profit but because it’s the right thing to do. Look at Cuba if you want an example.
