Taking Back America – This Is My Country! Part III.

April 1, 2008 - PRLog -- What are the targets for change?

4.  Health Care Industry Cost, Insurance and Unnecessary Treatment

Just look at the facts and there is no doubt this system is broken.  In 2006 we spent $2.1 trillion on health care, over $7,026 for every person in the USA, and it took over 16% of our Gross Domestic Product.  That is 4.3 times more money than we spent on defense.  The cost of health care increases at more than double the inflation rate annually.

At 16% of GDP we have the highest health care costs of any developed nation with the next highest being Switzerland 10.9%, Germany 10.7%, Canada 9.7% and France 9.5%.  Americans spent one third more on health care than any of these nations, and while 50 million Americans do not have health insurance all of the citizens in the other nations mentioned receive health care.  At our current pace we will be spending $4 trillion on health care in just 7 years, by 2015.

With the war in Iraq one might expect the cost of health care for veterans to be substantial as treatment in the war zone is far improved from earlier wars and for every death of a soldier there are 9 wounded soldiers that return home.  Yet the cost of veteran’s health care drops to $5,000 per person, $2,000 less per year than civilians.

What is causing these statistical aberrations?  Are we much sicker than citizens of the other nations?  Is there a greater medical risk to civilians in America than our soldiers in Iraq?  Why are 50 million Americans uninsured when all of the citizens of other nations receive health care?

According to the latest statistics employer paid health insurance premiums in the USA were $11,500 for families and about $4,200 for individuals.  That means annual health insurance premiums account for a substantial portion of health care costs.  Something is very wrong with the system.

So what is the average educational debt for new doctors coming into the market?  According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average educational debt of indebted graduates of the class of 2006 (including pre-med borrowing) is $130,571.  The average debt of graduating medical students increased in 2006 by 8.5 percent over the previous year.  72 percent of graduates have debt of at least $100,000.  86.6 percent of graduating medical students carry outstanding loans.  40.2 percent of 2006 graduates have non-educational debt, averaging $16,689.  Source: AAMC 2006 Graduation Questionnaires.

So how much do they make when they graduate?  Cardiologists were the most sought-after specialists last year, fetching salaries ranging from $234,000 to $525,000 and averaging $320,000 a year, according to surveys.  Close behind cardiologists are radiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Now why do we loan med students the money when bank financing would be readily available in light of their low risk?

5.  Pharmaceutical Industry Proliferation of Prescription Drugs

This can be short and sweet.  In 2002 we spent $162 billion on prescription drugs and in 2006 we spent $217 billion on prescription drugs.  One out of every five Americans takes 5 or more prescriptions per day.  All Americans average 2.9 prescriptions per day.  Our senior citizens, who are increasing very rapidly with the aging of the Baby Boomers, averaged $559 for prescriptions in 1992, $1,205 for prescriptions in 2000, and $1,912 in 2005 with spending expected to reach $2,805 in 2010.

Every day it seems the health authorities announce yet another prescription drug that does not work, or whose long-term effects are determined to be more dangerous than expected.  Yet every day it seems there are new prescriptions for new diseases.  We live longer but spend far more.   Kids are over-prescribed with Ritalin and other drugs.  They are addicted to drugs they don’t even take raiding medicine cabinets for the new drug culture.

6.  FDA (Food and Drug Administration) Drug Approval Process

If drug prices in America have been rising almost five times as fast as inflation then the FDA must assume some of the responsibility as they are the regulatory agency charged with overseeing the over-the-counter and prescription drugs so abundant in our society.

The FDA new drug approval process with layers of clinical animal and human trials is the most costly, most lengthy and often most bizarre in terms of protocols and criteria for approval in the world.  It is a process designed for the benefit of wealthy pharmaceutical companies, not for the small and independent research companies and laboratories.

Major pharmaceutical firms have managed to negotiate with FDA for new drug approval even if the drug extends the life expectancy of the patient by just 30 days.  Yet when these products are sold to the public no one seems to mention they might only be good for 30 days at a cost of thousands of dollars

Things have gotten so ridiculous in the approval process that television ads for the drug Celebrex contain so many warnings of side effects and drug interactions that the ad actually states “the FDA says the benefits may outweigh the risks” when taking it.  Are they crazy?  It might be safe to take it?

Human trials approved by FDA require a protocol where half of the patients are given a placebo rather than the drug so results taking the drug can be measured against a control group not taking the drug.  Not a bad practice unless the drug is experimental and the disease is going to kill the patient.  

For example, stage 3 cancer patients have weeks or months to live.  At stage 3 any normal and extremely expensive treatment like chemo, radiation or surgery has already failed.  When they are offered a chance to participate in an experiment that might save their life and the option is certain death you might think they would jump at the chance, but that is not the case.

Why would they sign up when only half the people will even receive the treatment, with the other half getting meaningless placebos?  If they are in the half that gets the candy and not the drug they die.  If they get the drug there is a chance they might live.  When you are facing death there should not be a 50-50 chance you won’t get the treatment.

Other problems with the industry include their price gouging, opposition to generic drugs selling for much less, opposition to foreign drugs also selling for much less, payments to doctors for prescribing their drugs, and unsubstantiated claims regarding over-the-counter drugs like cough syrup which has been proven to do no good.

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