Too bad there aren't any NHS competitors.
I can't think of an insurance company in the US that'd cover this. Can you?
For that price, one might hope that the company producing it would be willing to provide the drugs as an act of good will (and good advertising!)
It does suck that there aren't enough people to do proper experimentation for this affliction.
Then while I am on pension I am back on the public system, I am making no contribution but using it most.
That would basically be a system designed to bancrupt the public but lucrative for private insurers.
I don't think it is for things "not covered by the NHS". It depends on your level of coverage but typically you would go to the NHS first and then invoke your private coverage when you have a diagnosis in order the eg skip the queue.
When a relative had a heart attack, he was put on a waiting list for a heart bypass - 1 year. When he invoked insurance, he got seen within a month - by the same doctor and in the same facility as it would have been on NHS.
In a lot of instances the private health care system is just paying the public one for advantageous access to services.
To be clear though, I'm fine with this - the NHS is for everyone and it should be funded for everyone.
In fact it increases your tax costs, because private insurance provided by e.g. an employer is treated as a BIK.
This comment in a nutshell reveals the ignorance of US consumers. Just because you think something should work the way you want, doesn't mean that's reality.
There is no "health insurance market" in the US, since you can't actually negotiate with any entity in the insurance industry.
Even for most companies, come Jan. 1, they switch providers to the lowest-cost they can find since there is no ability to negotiate with their current provider after the inevitable and compulsory 20%/annum increase.