Last week my world slowed down enough so I could escape for a leisurely walk in the green hills of Berkeley, California. As is my habit, I listened to one of my favorite podcasts called Radiolab. In this episode, the hosts discussed a fundamental topic: the value of human life. They told the story of a group of doctors who decided that they would protest the $30,000 price tag expected for the cost of a new anti-cancer medicine, and refuse to prescribe the medicine unless the pharmaceutical company lowered the price.
Why were these doctors protesting? To reduce the cost of a medication that, on average, would extend the lives of their patients with colon cancer a whopping 42 days. Wow, I thought, these must be some incredible humans if they are worth almost $1000 a day. Then again, if I were looking death in the face and could postpone it for 42 days, would I spend that kind of money? I suppose I would. What else would I be saving it for?
[For more of this story, written by Joshua Bamberger, go to http://www.whatworksforamerica...ssness/#.VUGCuCFVikp]
Comments (0)