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ALS - Motor Neuron Disease: Mechanism and Development of New Therapies

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Published on: July 29, 2007

Size Does Matter! Prioritizing Rare Diseases for Luck Egalitarian Reasons.

Didde Boisen Andersen¹, Andreas Brøgger Albertsen², Sarah Wadmann³

¹VIVE-The Danish Center for Social Science Research, Aabyhoej, Denmark.

|June 6, 2026

Summary

Rare diseases pose a challenge for healthcare priority setting. This study introduces the "bad numbers luck" argument, suggesting egalitarian grounds justify prioritizing rare disease treatments.

Keywords:

Justice bad price luck formal equality luck egalitarianism orphan drugs priority setting rare diseases

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Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

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Navigating MARRVEL, a Web-Based Tool that Integrates Human Genomics and Model Organism Genetics Information

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Published on: August 15, 2019

Area of Science:

Health Economics
Bioethics
Public Health Policy

Background:

Priority setting in healthcare faces challenges with rare diseases.
Debates exist on whether rarity itself warrants special consideration.
Current practices show a higher willingness to pay for rare disease treatments, despite philosophical objections.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the ethical justification for prioritizing rare diseases in healthcare.
To introduce and defend the
bad numbers luck
argument.

Main Methods:

Philosophical argumentation.
Analysis of luck egalitarianism.
Examination of healthcare priority-setting frameworks.

Main Results:

Rarity does not have inherent moral value, challenging traditional priority setting.
Egalitarian principles, specifically "bad numbers luck," can justify prioritizing rare diseases.
This framework reconciles fairness and efficiency in healthcare resource allocation.

Conclusions:

The "bad numbers luck" argument provides a novel ethical basis for rare disease prioritization.
Adjusted priority-setting processes and increased societal focus are needed.
Recognizing "bad numbers luck" can lead to fairer and more efficient healthcare systems.