Governments should license publicly funded drug patents to competitors when prices are unaffordable

Debate continues over whether governments license publicly funded drug patents to compe....

Overview Debates Related claims Topics

Younger patients should receive priority when lifesaving treatment is scarce

Doctors should be allowed to prescribe undisclosed placebos when no effective treatment exists

The psychological effect on a patient of receiving a drug prescribed by a doctor is beneficial in itself

Insurers should be barred from setting premiums using genetic tests

Competent adults should be allowed to sell a kidney

A placebo's psychological effect is driven by the patient's confidence in the medical professional and their belief that they are receiving a cure

Prescribing undisclosed placebos is a form of deception

Publicly funded healthcare should cover infertility treatment

Medicare for All is a viable solution to the U.S. healthcare crisis

Medicare coverage of anti-obesity drugs would add about $35 billion to federal spending from 2026 to 2034

Semaglutide carries a regulator-confirmed risk of NAION, a very rare optic nerve condition

Semaglutide and tirzepatide are cost-effective for obesity at current net prices

Most adults with obesity but without diabetes stop GLP-1 drugs within a year

Medicare coverage of weight-loss drugs could save Medicare $175–245 billion over ten years

Placebos should be used in experiments and the testing of new drugs

Placebos can be helpful for patients even if they are not the most effective treatment

Undisclosed placebos can be useful and effective in the short term

Placebos can improve patient symptoms

Widespread prescription of undisclosed placebos by doctors would lead to a general decline in healthcare costs

Placebos can produce genuine improvements in physical symptoms, such as reducing nausea