An op-ed the other day discussed the topic of Provenge, a drug that was supposedly held up at the FDA for three years instead of given to men suffering from prostate cancer. The author went on to say that eighty thousand men died from the disease in those three years that could have been saved.
What the author did not mention is that these men, if given the unapproved medication, would have lived another four months on average, a painful four months at that. But ours is not to decide who lives and who dies, or when for that matter.
The op-ed brought a response from a doctor that stated that each of those four months added up to 26,000 patient years which equates to a lot of graduations, marriages, etc. The doctor also addressed the fact that extending these lives by four months would cost society $8 billion dollars. His point is that money should not be considered when dealing with life and death.
Obama’s choice to head Medicare is a big believer in the English health care system. England actually puts a dollar figure on certain health care procedures and what the cut-off amount is. This new Medicare gentleman basically agrees that a person has a duty to die if the cost of extending life would be more of a burden than a benefit for society. When 65% of all those with prostate cancer are diagnosed when 65 years old or older, that means on Medicare, older folks should be concerned.
And this is the point, if we choose to have the government pay for our health insurance then they have the right to decide who lives and who dies. To be fair to all the government decides how much a life is worth, an exact dollar figure like that in England. If Americans don’t want someone else deciding their health care choices, then they should not have someone else paying for their health insurance plan.
When individuals and families are responsible for buying their own health insurance, and deciding their own health care benefits, the more freedom there is to choose expensive or inexpensive health care. When Americans want someone else to pay for their health insurance they need to get used to the fact that others will decide what health care they will receive.
Michael Higgins
602.405.8769
An Arizona health insurance agent.