News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on BioNTech alone could lift German economy by 0.5% this year. Parent comment

Re:BioNTech alone could lift German economy by 0.5% this year by stncls on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @01:46PM (#28131895)
If you can actually cure some cancers, it will probably be a net positive economically.

For example, in medical circles in my home country, smoking-related cancer prevention campaigns are widely believed to pay for themselves easily, despite low efficacy. (Sorry, I have no citation for that, but it is what is taught to students in medical school.)

In countries where the social safety net fully pays for such health issues (this includes Germany), the cost of cancer patients is itself a tremendous strain on the system.

Additionally, the decision for social security to reimburse (i.e. cover) such drugs typically involves long term economic impact computations. Access to such treatment is almost surely a win for everyone.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:BioNTech alone could lift German economy by 0.5% this year by Arrath on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @01:51PM (#28131953)
> In countries where the social safety net fully pays for such health issues (this includes Germany), the cost of cancer patients is itself a tremendous strain on the system.

This is a great point, and there are also knock-on effects to consider. Say, the parent, child or sibling that removes themselves from the workforce to give daily care and ferry a patient to and from treatments.

[ Parent | on HN ]