[tolbiny]

"But it surely seems to me to suggest that some sort of government intervention such as aid, a grant, something ought to be used here. It is utterly senseless to me that in a country as prosperous as ours that something like this should happen."

The government making a large overt payment to save a guys life would really open the floogates to totally socialized medicine. Which i actually think would be better than the half measures in place today. Stuff like medicare seems mostly to help large medical companies keep thier costs up, and prevents insurance companies from coming up with affordable solutions for the lower class.
I certainly wouldn't want to give insurance companies a reason to withhold payment for vital services, and the govt picking up the tab could certainly be seen as an excuse.