How do people without insurance do it?
Short answer, they don’t.
Healthcare in this country sucks.
I went in for my second once-every-three-week Keytruda infusion today. I was handed this “informational sheet” at check-in. I mean, I knew this shit was expensive, but that $30K figure isn’t for the full course of treatment; it’s per infusion. A year’s worth of treatments rounds to more than half a million dollars.
As I was getting unhooked from the IV, the nurse and I had a long conversation about the state of healthcare in these United States and agreed that we needed Medicare for all, no questions asked. We’re the only “first world” country without universal healthcare and frankly, it’s a fucking embarrassment.
That price is a lot like an MSRP, a price they think it’s worth if you have the money and are willing to pay. They are still making a boatload of cash, but everything is negotiable. Even the actual expense of making the drug.
That’s a lot more than my HIV drugs!