This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

This story ran on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) National newscast tonight.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows ... 1344104506

As far as everything I have read about Professor Zamboni's and others working to perform stents is that it is a relatively inexpensive treatment. Admittedly the drugs over many years to prevent furring of the stent and blockage may cost money, no one is asking anyone to sell their home and assets for this. So where did the couple get the idea that this is going to be that costly?

The only people asking for more and more research in the hope they can slow down the runaway vehicle are those that bring in huge incomes from keeping people with their particular money making machine safe.

We will see a lot more of this as the months and years roll past. Trust me I know!

This was under the Q and A section of the CTV W5 website:

"Dr. Michael Dake, chief of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine (California), is the first doctor to treat CCSVI outside of Italy. He typically charges patients US$80,000. Instead of balloons, Dake uses stents to open up blocked veins. Zamboni and the rest of the Italian team say the long-term safety of this approach has not been proven."

Perhaps this is where the couple got the information?

I ask myself how Dr. Simka in Poland can take less than 5.000$ doing and using pretty much the same. I don't want to prejudge this, there might be reasons. But I just can't come to an answer.

Man, these are Stanford prices. I guess it's like having a beer at the Ritz. And probably half of the sum goes to insurance companies anyway.

Ok, perhaps insurance is the point that was missing to me. Perhaps.

cah wrote:I ask myself how Dr. Simka in Poland can take less than 5.000$ doing and using pretty much the same. I don't want to prejudge this, there might be reasons. But I just can't come to an answer.

As I am from Eastern Europe, maybe I am able to make it a little bit clearer.
From my point of view, as I know both parts of the world, I would say this is something like "another world". I am not saying that your or my world is good or bad, it is simply different.
The systems are different, history and cultures are different. I repeat again, there is not anything beeing good or bad!
E.g the wages are very different.
To be honest I have never been able to understand the health system in the USA - I do not even know what to say: is it good or bad, is it better than Slovak or Polish? I do not know. It is for sure different.
MR in my country costs about 120 Euro in Poland as well. My health insurance company pays for it - all of us have health insurance here.
I must wait about 6 weeks to get there. In Canada people must wait even 8 months.
I think there is no clear and fast answer.
Erika