Medical markups: Should private medical companies be regulated?
On Friday, Damon opened up the lines to find out what KZN listeners think about the costs that private medical companies charge for medication.
Listen as KZN reacts to the topic in the podcast then read more below:
According to Times Live, patients around the world have been cured of the once deemed incurable disease Hepatitis C using a drug which costs about R140,000 in the private sector in South Africa. However, in the United States, the price is $100,000 (R1.4-million).
According to new data released at the World Hepatitis Summit in Sao Paulo this week, the reality is that it actually only costs $50 (about R700). People are saying the price gaps are 'breathtaking' and surely it's time government reforms the way the prices of medicines are structured.
Everyone deserves the right to healthcare and to be treated. But if medical companies end up adding such a high markup, how can South Africans who need treatment get the medication that they need? In South Africa‚ the Treatment Action Campaign has called for discussion and law changes where medicine patents render life-saving medicines out of patients' reach.
So with high costs of medicines, do you think private medical companies should be forced to display their markup on medical products? Have you been in a situation where the cost of medicine has just been out of your reach?
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