whose life

I was listening to NPR, driving home from a clients house. I was not sure if I was ready for some political bit of aggravation, thinking, ‘my God, its too early in the morning to get pissed off about politics. But the topic was about health so I thought this should be an easy conversation for me to listen. The theme was about the cost of prescription drugs and who might be able to afford them and who indeed might not and perhaps die now or earlier then if they had the ability to take the medicine. There are two drugs for Hepatitis C that recently have proven 90% recovery. Prior to these drugs patients had at the most a 50% chance of recovery if any recovery at all. The price for one drug for the year is $66K and the other drug about $50K. To survive with a 90% chance recovery rate, Hep C, an individual would need at least $115K. The report on NPR went on to say that currently Medicare and most drug companies will not cover the cost using the excuses that the FDA has not approved the combination therapy or some other bothersome issues like we just don’t want to pay for it.

The commentator went on how the Hep C drugs are not the only prohibitive costing drugs, but these drugs in particular do have an astounding recovery rate. So, trying not to get my own blood pressure to rise I thought aloud as I was driving, if you have a disease, if there is an unbelievably manufactured way to survive that disease but the medications cost too much to take those drugs, why were those drugs even discovered in the first place. Then I thought as I felt my temples throb, is it the fault of the mercenary drug manufacturers, the inability of the government to intervene, the luck of the dice as to who has enough money to pay for an extended piece of life or all of the above?

In a nation where pitchforks, guns and nooses are at the ready to make sure a life is born at the moment of conception how do we even NOT consider the quality of that life after it takes its first breath of oxygen? Then I thought not finding a way for people to survive disease or illness does fit into another kind of pattern. The same people who insist women must never abort, are the same hypocritical folk who  enjoy cutting back of food stamps, prefer that health care be too expensive or non inclusive. The same people who swear God will smite you if you are raped and don not bring that zygote to fruition swear that God hates the unemployed, is disgusted with the frail and elderly and that God does no give a good damn about the poor and those living in poverty. As my mind raced, trying so hard not to get angry about one for hypocritical event in American life, I sighed and wondered. Whose life counts anymore. Whose life is worth more then others? Whose life can be cut short? As I parked my car reaching my garage, i also wondered who are these people who just don’t care?