Certainly society doesn't absorb these costs evenly, and only a fraction of these costs are paid by taxpayers. I'd bet if you add up the total expenditure on the federal government level for services for the blind, it wouldn't justify trading it for curing people who suffer from this one genetic adaptation (given all the other people who are blind for other reasons).
Plus, it's not as if every person will even get the procedure if it is free. There are complications. There are religious objections. There are personal preferences.
Higher prices don't come down because rich people buy them. They come down because it creates incentives for new innovators to produce cheaper and more efficient methods.
Plus, it's not as if every person will even get the procedure if it is free. There are complications. There are religious objections. There are personal preferences.
Higher prices don't come down because rich people buy them. They come down because it creates incentives for new innovators to produce cheaper and more efficient methods.