Stem cell therapy would become free in countries with healthcare when the cost of the treatment becomes equal to or less than the cost of insulin treatment, or when the people in charge of the healthcare budget decide that the benefits are worth the cost. They would probably prioritise children and pregnant women at first, and then younger adults, and then middle aged adults, and then older adults, as the young would live a longer life without relying on insulin therapy... So whenever it does happen I'll be way down the list 😂
If stem cell therapy is scaled and prices go down, it might be possible one day. It would all depend on the cost.
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u/amanset
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u/anti-sugar_dependant
Depends on how well it works I think. The NHS, well NICE, requires evidence that a new treatment is worth the cost. So the reason all T1Ds now automatically qualify for a CGM in England is that NICE looked at the evidence and decided that it's cost effective to give all T1Ds a CGM because it enables better control, which reduces complications, which cost a lot of money. Basically the same reasoning for why we get free prescriptions. So if stem cell treatment works out cheaper than treatment with a hybrid closed loop, taking into account all the long term effects, that's probably what they'll do. And if it's not cheaper they'll probably stick with HCLs.
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u/Damnknit
I don’t think it would be free. Maybe eventually but definitely not at first.
We don’t have to pay to go to the doctor or hospital but we still have to pay for all prescriptions including insulin and CGMs. There’s government programs that can help but don’t cover the whole cost. It’s significantly less than somewhere like the US but some medications are still very expensive unless
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u/Ylsani
Likely yes but probably 10-15 years if not more after it's approved.
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u/Chance-Ask7675
Of course. It will follow the same trajectory as every other drug or treatment that comes to market. And that very rarely includes an expectation to pay out of pocket in places with socialized healthcare. First it will be experimental, then covered for priority groups, then more widely available. Drug companies price drugs with this in mind and negotiate with healthcare authorities, they dont just set the price at a million dollars and say "too bad, you dont pay no one gets access" lol. They'd never get anywhere if it was only available to rich people willing to pay out of pocket and doctors wont waste their time learning the necessary protocols if thats their patient pool.
I don't know why this news is not getting more press - maybe it is just early?
The news right now is around the islet act passing - but if this would be islet cadaver transplants, which are not the path forward for large scale. Or maybe that is for the next 5-8 years and in 8-15 years it goes with these type of cells?
<insert joke about 5 years here>