US Health care: More Money, Less Health

[FORD]

The flip side of that is precisely because there is a profit motive, billions are poured into drug remedies. The middle balance point of risk and reward, I'm not sure any of us can point it out exactly.

My middle for this argument is that we are doing all of this wastefully. I, although not a popular conservative argument, believe we should be investing most of our budget into mapping the human genome and stem cells. All of our understanding is based on trial and error. Mapping and stem cells will allow us to look at problems more intelligently and come to solutions quicker. I'm all for that from a humanitarian POV (believe it or not, I'm not into human suffering) and for capitalistic reasons. We should do things the smartest way possible. The ethical side arguments are trumped, to me, by the ethical main arguments.

Now that President Obama has reversed Chimpy's ban on stem cell research, I'm anticipating research in that area will accelerate greatly. Or should I say the overall pro-science outlook of this administration, as opposed to the BCE who pandered both to religious reich extremism and pharmaceutical monopoly. I'm not sure how far they intend on going to fix the overall health care crisis, but that alone is a great step forward.

[FORD]

The FDA really needs to rethink what they put out on the market for people to use. Shit like oxycotin, vicadin, and other pain medications are horrible for people to be taking, especially when there are other alternatives for pain relief. Not saying that people don't need something to help the pain, just how about something that isn't as addictive as heroin?

People are getting hooked on doctor prescribed medications left and right nowadays, and the big companies are profiting from it non-stop it is so overlooked because the people on these pills still feel the pain, but it is no longer from the injury but from the addiction. They need to get some sort of handle on this before the U.S. looks like it did at the turn of the century (1899-1900 turn of century) when people were hooked on laudanum and morphine for illnesses that didn't need that kind of medicine.

The problem with the FDA is the same thing as the problem with Wall Street - lack of any meaningful regulation for the last 28 years. Nearly everyone in Chimpy's first cabinet was tied to the pharmaceutical industry. Including his dad, who I believe is still on the board at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals.

[Redballjets88]

The problem with the FDA is the same thing as the problem with Wall Street - lack of any meaningful regulation for the last 28 years. Nearly everyone in Chimpy's first cabinet was tied to the pharmaceutical industry. Including his dad, who I believe is still on the board at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals.

It is out of hand how this stuff is given out like candy. Insurance would be affordable is the companies weren't shelling out so much money to buy pain killers non stop for the abusers out there.

I worked with a girl that is about 27 or 28, she is totally strung out on pills, has a history of addiction, and in the 11 months I knew her had at least 4 back surgeries. The shittiest thing is that she has 2 kids and I hate to say it because I know the girl and she is nice, but how can one raise 2 kids alone while nursing a pain med addiction.

And the kicker is that if she got off the pills and got into a recovery program odds are her back pain would go away because her body wouldn't be dependent on the pills anymore.

[GAR]

When I was like 5 or 6, they had me on Ritalin for a little while.

"..then, when I was 7 I smoked my first joint with Uncle George and wound up on him for quite a while."

[ELVIS]

Isn't it extremely expensive to research & develop new drugs? The manufacturers seem to make way too much profit, but I know such things like no generic makers can compete for X amount of years is supposed to be so they can recoup r & d costs.

Well, i've been a nurse for 20 years and it's appalling what's going on with corrent drug research and development...

Take blood pressure medication for instance...

When I started out there were safe and effective blood pressure medications, but now you hardly ever see them in use due to Doctors getting kick backs through lobbyists or drug reps...

And the side effects of a lot of these new drugs are dangerous, possibly cancer causing and in many cases, deadly...

Then there's the statin class of drugs that are supposed to reduce cholesterol...AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT GIVING THEM TO CHILDREN!

There's even debate going on between groups of cardiologists whether cholesterol is even a leading cause (or cause at all) of heart disease, or the formation of plaque in arteries...

And I can go on and on...


AND don't get me started on vaccines!

[ELVIS]

And it's only going to get much worse if Obaahaahaahaahaahaama get's his healthcare reform wish...

It will not work!

[FORD]

I was on a prescription blood pressure drug for a while. Switched to an herbal supplement instead. The natural stuff worked much better. And it didn't drop my potassium levels to dangerous territory like the prescription drug can do, if you don't carefully monitor that shit

which of course requires repeat visits to the doctors office, and big needles sucking out blood for the tests. Who the fuck needs all that? Take the stuff God invented. Hell, you can even keep it Kosher with this stuff....

Michael's Products and Online Store

[FORD]

And it's only going to get much worse if Obaahaahaahaahaahaama get's his healthcare reform wish...

It will not work!

Ummmm.... Nurse Elvis.....

Your previous post is a great example of why corporate health care for profit is NOT working. If we actually moved to a single payer system, where the insurance companies and big pharma weren't running the show, these sort of abuses would not happen.

Not that Obama's current plan is single payer, but hopefully it will become that, if it is clear that the people want it. And that includes those who work in the industry such as yourself.

[ELVIS]

No dude...

It will just be a huge money sucking bureaucracy with miles and mils of paper work...and that's on top of the incredible paper work in the medical field...

Yeah, get the government involved...:scared14:


The Obama team...

[Angel]

Elvis, you don't have a fucking clue...

[binnie]

I think this is the longest post here since someone said to me there was no fossil proof of evolution.

There isn't: God put fossils there to test our faith

[ELVIS]

Fuck you and your big black titties, Angelslut!

20 years in the health care field gives me a FUCKING CLUE, bitch!

Now go back to your hopeless Canadian Health care system...

You might even fair better in Cuba...

[Angel]

My system is far better than yours, and thank God I have it, or I would have been dead a long time ago. I worked in medical administration for 10 years. I have no doubt you know what you're talking about in the medical end of things, as far as administration - you obviously DON'T know what you're talking about. If you did, you would be aware that our system is better than yours.

[ELVIS]

How so ??

And I will admit to staying as far away as possible from medical administration because my job is to deliver health care...

I don't care who has money, insurance or neither. I treat them identically, as many of my peers do...

The Doctors, Nurses and other health care professionals aren't the problem, aside from being an ever increasing shortage of the above, and with the baby boomers at retirement age, the demand for health care will multiply significantly...

The problems are administrative and complex, but government isn't the answer...

[Nitro Express]

I actually found I had more choices paying my medical bills in cash. In fact, my doctor gives me a cash discount because he has to have a staff of four people just to handle the medical/insurance billing. I have to be on a CPAP machine at night and when I went to buy my machine I got a cash discount and got to choose whatever machine I wanted. The medical equipment supply company has to have six full time people to do their medical/insurance billing. The way medicare/medicade and insurance works these days is your doctor has to bill you for the huge staff they have to have to handle the beurocracy and stupidity. Any old timer will tell you the doctors started charging more after President Johnson started medicare/medicade.

In the US I can buy my own CPAP machine from whoever I want. In the UK you cannot buy your own CPAP machine. The state ran medical beurocracy has to issue you one. No choices and it takes forever to get one and hopefully you don't die of complications due to severe obstructive sleep apnea while waiting for one.