My uncle died of liver cancer two years ago. Time from diagnosis to death was 4 1/2 months. His insurance company refused to pay for some drug the doctor said he could try (maybe this one because it was supposed to be about 3000/month). They told him he would have to pay for it himself. The doctor said it might give him an extra month or so, so he didn’t want to put his family through the expense.
How many people would actually choose to spend $18,000 of their *own* money to extend their lives by 6 months (and probably with very low quality of life), rather than leave the $18,000 to their children, spouse, or charity? It makes no sense to expect public health programs or private insurance programs to shell out colossal amounts of money for brief extensions of the lives of terminally ill patients, when most people wouldn’t want to spend their own hard-earned money that way. And of course the cost of the drug is just the beginning, as there will be other medical expenses during those 6 months, and rarely any economic productivity from the patient.