The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Leeches and Osteotomies for Everyone!
The Associated Press reports that Johnson & Johnson is withdrawing the iBOT, a wheelchair that can climb stairs. The reason? They’re too expensive:
J&J blamed reimbursement in part for lack of a “sustainable market,” but pledged to provide iBOT users repair service through 2013.
“Giving people independence and access and freedom and technology ought to be something we do,” says [Segway inventor Dean] Kamen, who argues that an iBOT might save money on home modifications.
But today’s emphasis is to expand access to health care rather than provide pricier improvements, cautions University of Michigan business professor Erik Gordon, who tracks J&J. He just heard the venture capitalists who fund device research warn industry that new designs must prove a better value than alternatives.
“To a certain extent, there are breakthroughs we just can’t afford,” Gordon says.
Remember those words: “Today’s emphasis is to expand access to health care rather than provide pricier improvements.” President Obama is promising to pay for “universal” health care–not to mention everything else he’s trying to do–by cutting health-care costs. What can that mean other than denying “pricier improvements” to anyone who may need them?
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.
