How much is six months of live worth? If you were suffering from a terminal illness and there was an expensive medicaion that could give you six additional months of life, should your insurance pay for it? Are you worht it? In Britan the answer is no.
“If the Bruce Hardy lived in the United States or just about any European country other than Britain, he would most likely get the drug, although he might have to pay part of the cost. A clinical trial showed that the pill, called Sutent, delays cancer progression for six months at an estimated treatment cost of $54,000.”
“But at that price, Mr. Hardy’s life is not worth prolonging, according to a British government agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The institute, known as NICE, has decided that Britain, except in rare cases, can afford only £15,000, or about $22,750, to save six months of a citizen’s life.”
“British authorities, after a storm of protest, are reconsidering their decision on the cancer drug and others.”