I am one of the lucky ones. My wife works for the Cobb County School Board in Georgia. She is allowed to cover me under her health care insurance. Now she must pay $210 per month for our health care insurance, but we have health care insurance, we are not one of the purported 31 million souls in the USA without health care insurance.
Let me repeat, we are one of the lucky ones, $210 per month is an inexpensive fee for health insurance. What concerns me is this - if $210 per month is inexpensive, then why can I see so many ways to save money in the health care system as it interfaces with me and my wife and as it interfaces with United Health Care, our insurance provider.
I have no complaints to date with UHC.
I have no real complaints with the doctors I see, their nurses and staff, the hospitals in the area, the pharmaceuticals we take etc. No real complaints with the whole health care system.
I do have TWO complaints.
The cost of health care in the USA is nonsensical. Two years ago I was having serious trouble breathing as my COPD symptoms flared up. I spent 5 days in the hospital. I received no special treatment, procedure or operation. I was allowed to leave my bed to go to the washroom and nothing else. For the first few days I did not have the breath or energy to leave my bed anyway. I was nebulized twice a day. I was on IV for fluids and some medication. I was on oxygen. After 5 days I went home where an oxygen system was arranged. The invoice presented for this 5 days of hospital service was $38,000.00. Neither UHC nor ourselves paid that amount.
When I arrived at the hospital, my wife paid $500.00 as part of my yearly deductible. Later we were billed for an additional $1500.00 which completed my deductible with UHC for 2009. UHC received the bill for $38,000 which was then reduced to their special price of$8000. UHC deducted our $2000 from the $8000 and paid $6000. I was very happy that this medical service was available to me as I was very ill at the time. However, the billing practices of a hospital are a complete mystery to me.
If I buy 10 cars instead on 1, then I expect to get a discount, maybe 25%, not 80%.
My second complaint is the media and political handling of the health care and health care insurance issue starting in 2008 and continuing through present times. I am an American citizen by choice. I was born a Canadian and moved to Atlanta in 1985. Do not even get me started on illegal aliens.
The first point is that Canadian health care is not free. Just as our medicare has a small monthly fee, there is a small monthly fee in Canada. More importantly, most Canadians carry supplemental health insurance because the health care does not cover many of the items which are integral to the treatment of a disease or condition. An example is the drugs injected as part of chemotherapy. Canadian friends of our pay $500 per month for this supplemental insurance. Chiropatric and physical therapy are often not covered. There is an extensive list of 'traditional health care items which are not covered. Almost all regular medical visits are handled through clinics. It is difficult in many areas to get a personal doctor even at a clinic which complicates ongoing treatment of medical conditions.
There is current political discussion that a side by side system may evolve where you can choose either the government system or a private health insurance system. For more than 10 years there have been 'private clinics' in the major cities where for a serious price one could obtain serious health care if one wanted to avoid the perils of the government system.
American politicians - stop pointing to Canada as an example of a successful single payer system!
American media - do your homework, your shoddy reporting is a disgrace.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Out Think Your Body | Weight Loss | Reduce Body Fat
Your body wants you to be fat.
Your mind must want you to be fat, look at the way it chooses your food sources.
If you like being fat, truck on. If you want to change your situation, then check out this helpful resource. One of its main concepts is calorie shifting which is insightful. It comes complete with a diet generator. The 10 weight loss rules are refreshingly honest, almost brutal. The life after diet section is also frank and direct.
Stop buying into all the media fluff and fads. Stop eating up all the "Big Business" propaganda on the internet and the tube. Start thinking logically for yourself. Grab some solid information and utilize it. Then you can start enjoying a healthier quality of life.
Your mind must want you to be fat, look at the way it chooses your food sources.
If you like being fat, truck on. If you want to change your situation, then check out this helpful resource. One of its main concepts is calorie shifting which is insightful. It comes complete with a diet generator. The 10 weight loss rules are refreshingly honest, almost brutal. The life after diet section is also frank and direct.
Stop buying into all the media fluff and fads. Stop eating up all the "Big Business" propaganda on the internet and the tube. Start thinking logically for yourself. Grab some solid information and utilize it. Then you can start enjoying a healthier quality of life.
Friday, June 6, 2008
How We Lie To Ourselves About Our Weight
For years the measure of a man's girth was indicative of his wealth. If one could eat in excess and physically toil little, then one must be rich and powerful right? wrong.
Perhaps in days of old, but not today.
Obesity and lack of fitness not only create unsatisfactory life styles, they also truncate the life line. My favorite target, the media, are finally starting to wake up and smell the roses. Lately more news items are zooming in on the obesity crisis in the USA. Some experts suggests that over 75% of the country is overweight and over 30% should be classed as obese.
With health costs rocketing higher and higher, no wonder so many diet programs, nutritional supplements, fitness clubs and health food stores are appearing on infomercials, TV ads, general media ads and in strip malls.
It is time to educate yourself. Do you know your basal caloric requirement? How about the standard number of calories required for your sex, age, weight, height and activity level? Do you know which foods you should be eating and why?
Here are some websites with some answers. Nothing is perfect but a little education is a great first step.
Daily caloric load
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598
Basal caloric load (what your body would burn up if you just lay in bed all day)
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
With the results from these calculators, one can plot a health and fitness strategy.
Some typical calculations are listed here.
Perhaps in days of old, but not today.
Obesity and lack of fitness not only create unsatisfactory life styles, they also truncate the life line. My favorite target, the media, are finally starting to wake up and smell the roses. Lately more news items are zooming in on the obesity crisis in the USA. Some experts suggests that over 75% of the country is overweight and over 30% should be classed as obese.
With health costs rocketing higher and higher, no wonder so many diet programs, nutritional supplements, fitness clubs and health food stores are appearing on infomercials, TV ads, general media ads and in strip malls.
It is time to educate yourself. Do you know your basal caloric requirement? How about the standard number of calories required for your sex, age, weight, height and activity level? Do you know which foods you should be eating and why?
Here are some websites with some answers. Nothing is perfect but a little education is a great first step.
Daily caloric load
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598
Basal caloric load (what your body would burn up if you just lay in bed all day)
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
With the results from these calculators, one can plot a health and fitness strategy.
Some typical calculations are listed here.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Democrats and National Health Care
Don't you just love it. One of the leading causes of death in the country is medical misadventure and the politicians what to put an 'arsonist in charge of fire fighting'. Can you imagine the blame assigning by government bureaucrats and the associated paperwork explaining the why's of health issues?
Maybe I see things too black and white with no gray, but is there not a simple solution to what ails the health industry? It does not matter whether you are talking about hospitals, doctors or pharmaceutical products. They all quake before the lawyers and the FDA. Wrongful death and malpractice suits are destroying any chance we might have of an effective health system. Product liability suits and class action suits dominate the minds of health industry leaders. No one has time to make improvements in the health system or its cost, everyone is too busy filling out forms for the government or an HMO.
With the amount of bureaucracy we have in place today here is a small example from the cost effectiveness side. I take pharmaceutical products for COPD. Every 3 months, I spend $100 on two 3 month prescriptions. OK, let's break this down. Now DJ has health insurance through her school board. Here are the numbers:
Name __Non Plan List Price_Plan 3 months_Plan 1 month
Foradil _____$423.95_______$50.00_____$25.00
Spiriva _____$519.95_______$50.00_____$25.00
Taking the costs of drugs a step farther, Walmart and Costco are supplying a large number of popular drugs at $4.00 per monthly prescription with or without health plan.
PS. If you do not tell your doctor to give you a 3 month prescription, you will receive a 1 month script and it will cost you an extra $25 every 3 months even if you are on a plan.
Can someone tell me how the price spread is possible?
Several years ago, when I was diagnosed with COPD, the pulmonary specialist ordered a catscan test at Northside hospital. Making a long story short, it took me about 90 minutes to get a 2 minute catscan completed. When I was leaving the hospital I was told that I needed to make the copayment for the insurance plan.
Retail price for catscan____________$2500.00
Price per the plan.________________$800.00
Copay with the plan________________$50.00
Can someone explain how this price spread is possible?
Here is a story from my personal health history. No exaggerations. No lies.
About 10 years ago, I was losing the feeling in my right arm. Not my left arm, that would be angina, my right arm. I went to the doctor and was referred to the orthopedic specialist. He looked at my shoulder and give me a cortisone shot which hurt like Hell. Nothing got better, if anything it got worse. My wife got fed up with my bellyaching and made me go to a Chiropractor. Now, before this incident, I had never been to a bone cracker and considered them all quacks. Wrong. He wouldn't give me a fast answer but insisted on taking Xrays. I had to come back the next day to get the results.
Here's the punch line. I had broken the horn on my third vertebrae and the calcification was pinching a nerve. He put me through some manipulation and exercises and I was good to go in about 3 weeks.
Traditional medicine - strike one.
Here is a story from my wife's personal health history. About 4 years ago, DJ went on a camping trip with our son Liam. During that trip she contracted Jiggers. I thinks that's how you spell it, I not from the south. In Canada when I was growing up we did not have Jiggers, thank goodness. What mean little mites. They infest your skin and make numerous sores which can end up bleeding and open if not treated immediately. We applied the local ointment and the Jiggers seem to be under control. Unfortunately, the bout with Jiggers messed with DJ's immune system and the open sores return over much of her body. She rushed off to her dermatologist and got some hand holding and no solution. After 3 more dermatologists, that's right 3 more, the consensus opinion was treat the sores with steroidal cream and take some steroids orally. Which DJ did. There was minor improvement. Even where the sores healed, there remained an indentation and a scar. This was very prevalent on her arms and legs. Some of the sores remained open and weeping.
I had been taking some glyconutrients as a supplement because I believe that the body can heal itself if it is giving fuel and resources. Because the sores were persisting, DJ asked if I thought glyconutrients might help. I said yes and told her to take 2 tsp of ambrotose daily. Time passed and I did not really notice a lot of change. DJ was taking glyconutrients once in a while. Several months passed by.
Now DJ is a beautiful lady. She takes pride in her appearance which had made this skin problem especially troubling. She often wore long dresses in the past so now she made a habit of wearing long sleeves and long dresses at her school. She has taught kindergarten for more than 25 years. About 2 years ago she was chatting with a fellow teacher. That day DJ had not wore a long dress and her bare legs were visible. Her friend blurted out - what's that on your legs DJ, it look like you have leprosy. Now DJ took the comment like an adult until she got home, then she cried.
That night she asked me again about glyconutrients. This time she took 2 tsp every day. In 2 weeks the sores had all dried up and were starting to heal. After a month almost all of the sores were gone and the indentations had filled in.
That's strike two for traditional medicine.
And in both cases, it was specialists who are supposed to know what is going on...
Now the purpose of this post is not just to bitch about health care. Please take the warning, we need less paperwork and control by the government. We are turning the doctors and nurses into paper pushers. Our justice system is destroying our traditional health and drug industry.
Maybe I see things too black and white with no gray, but is there not a simple solution to what ails the health industry? It does not matter whether you are talking about hospitals, doctors or pharmaceutical products. They all quake before the lawyers and the FDA. Wrongful death and malpractice suits are destroying any chance we might have of an effective health system. Product liability suits and class action suits dominate the minds of health industry leaders. No one has time to make improvements in the health system or its cost, everyone is too busy filling out forms for the government or an HMO.
With the amount of bureaucracy we have in place today here is a small example from the cost effectiveness side. I take pharmaceutical products for COPD. Every 3 months, I spend $100 on two 3 month prescriptions. OK, let's break this down. Now DJ has health insurance through her school board. Here are the numbers:
Name __Non Plan List Price_Plan 3 months_Plan 1 month
Foradil _____$423.95_______$50.00_____$25.00
Spiriva _____$519.95_______$50.00_____$25.00
Taking the costs of drugs a step farther, Walmart and Costco are supplying a large number of popular drugs at $4.00 per monthly prescription with or without health plan.
PS. If you do not tell your doctor to give you a 3 month prescription, you will receive a 1 month script and it will cost you an extra $25 every 3 months even if you are on a plan.
Can someone tell me how the price spread is possible?
Several years ago, when I was diagnosed with COPD, the pulmonary specialist ordered a catscan test at Northside hospital. Making a long story short, it took me about 90 minutes to get a 2 minute catscan completed. When I was leaving the hospital I was told that I needed to make the copayment for the insurance plan.
Retail price for catscan____________$2500.00
Price per the plan.________________$800.00
Copay with the plan________________$50.00
Can someone explain how this price spread is possible?
Here is a story from my personal health history. No exaggerations. No lies.
About 10 years ago, I was losing the feeling in my right arm. Not my left arm, that would be angina, my right arm. I went to the doctor and was referred to the orthopedic specialist. He looked at my shoulder and give me a cortisone shot which hurt like Hell. Nothing got better, if anything it got worse. My wife got fed up with my bellyaching and made me go to a Chiropractor. Now, before this incident, I had never been to a bone cracker and considered them all quacks. Wrong. He wouldn't give me a fast answer but insisted on taking Xrays. I had to come back the next day to get the results.
Here's the punch line. I had broken the horn on my third vertebrae and the calcification was pinching a nerve. He put me through some manipulation and exercises and I was good to go in about 3 weeks.
Traditional medicine - strike one.
Here is a story from my wife's personal health history. About 4 years ago, DJ went on a camping trip with our son Liam. During that trip she contracted Jiggers. I thinks that's how you spell it, I not from the south. In Canada when I was growing up we did not have Jiggers, thank goodness. What mean little mites. They infest your skin and make numerous sores which can end up bleeding and open if not treated immediately. We applied the local ointment and the Jiggers seem to be under control. Unfortunately, the bout with Jiggers messed with DJ's immune system and the open sores return over much of her body. She rushed off to her dermatologist and got some hand holding and no solution. After 3 more dermatologists, that's right 3 more, the consensus opinion was treat the sores with steroidal cream and take some steroids orally. Which DJ did. There was minor improvement. Even where the sores healed, there remained an indentation and a scar. This was very prevalent on her arms and legs. Some of the sores remained open and weeping.
I had been taking some glyconutrients as a supplement because I believe that the body can heal itself if it is giving fuel and resources. Because the sores were persisting, DJ asked if I thought glyconutrients might help. I said yes and told her to take 2 tsp of ambrotose daily. Time passed and I did not really notice a lot of change. DJ was taking glyconutrients once in a while. Several months passed by.
Now DJ is a beautiful lady. She takes pride in her appearance which had made this skin problem especially troubling. She often wore long dresses in the past so now she made a habit of wearing long sleeves and long dresses at her school. She has taught kindergarten for more than 25 years. About 2 years ago she was chatting with a fellow teacher. That day DJ had not wore a long dress and her bare legs were visible. Her friend blurted out - what's that on your legs DJ, it look like you have leprosy. Now DJ took the comment like an adult until she got home, then she cried.
That night she asked me again about glyconutrients. This time she took 2 tsp every day. In 2 weeks the sores had all dried up and were starting to heal. After a month almost all of the sores were gone and the indentations had filled in.
That's strike two for traditional medicine.
And in both cases, it was specialists who are supposed to know what is going on...
Now the purpose of this post is not just to bitch about health care. Please take the warning, we need less paperwork and control by the government. We are turning the doctors and nurses into paper pushers. Our justice system is destroying our traditional health and drug industry.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Salads Rock
The holidays approach rapidly. Unless you want your waistline to expand rapidly you might consider using salads as an alternative to excessive overeating during these festive times. Or you might at least plan a few salads during the coming weeks. With that in mind, complete the opt in form over on the left side of this page just beneath the photo of the 'Salad Recipes' book. I will send you the link to a pdf ebook which details 123 salad recipes and 22 salad dressing recipes. With that big a list I am certain you can find dozens which will tickle your appetite without increasing your waistline.
Just so that you know how important it is to stay healthy, here is a link to a YouTube video by Dr. Mercola which makes some interesting comments on the state of our conventional medical system here in the land of the free and home of the brave.
Just so that you know how important it is to stay healthy, here is a link to a YouTube video by Dr. Mercola which makes some interesting comments on the state of our conventional medical system here in the land of the free and home of the brave.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Doctors Watch Out For Our Health Right?
The Health Jerk – Part Five
Welcome back, this is part five of the Health Jerk series. So far we have listed the many contributors to your good health. Parts 2, 3 and 4 were dedicated to the FDA and trying to understand exactly how the government is keeping us safe. On my scorecard, they come up a little short.
Let move our focus over to medical doctors. These poor souls spend half their lives in school trying to master the ever-increasing body of knowledge known as Medicine. All sarcasm aside, this has become a truly impossible task in recent decades. The body of knowledge is expanding exponentially and even with the help of high speed computers, no one can stay current.
There is one disturbing thing about all doctors older than say 30. That being, 10 years ago and earlier very little or no attention was given to nutrition at med school. This has changed and is changing more. What I mean by that is actual class time and courses are now dedicated to the advantages and effects of good nutrition. Also you may have noticed that the government recently modified the recommended food chart.
I can not talk about doctors without talking about health insurance and HMO's. Today health insurance is so important to the earnings of a doctor that almost all doctor offices have a person totally dedicated to completing the forms and interfacing with the health insurance companies. Have you gone to the doctors recently? You cannot get by the receptionist until you provide your valid health insurance card and make your co-payment.
Today's discussion is from my personal health history.
15 years ago, I started to lose the feeling in my right hand all the way down from the right shoulder. Not my left hand...angina, my right hand. I went to my family doctor and he decided it was joint damage in my shoulder from my misspent youth on a pitcher's mound. Whatever. The orthopedic specialist saw me and confirmed that it was shoulder damage and got out the big needle with cortisone and shot me up. Hurt like Hell. After a week it was probably worse and certainly not better.
My wife stepped in and insisted that I go to a chiropractor. I dragged myself into the quack's office and sat down. He insisted on an X-ray of my back and neck. I argued that the doctors, people with MD after their name, had said it was an injured shoulder. He ignored me. The next day he called me asked me to come in. I did. He said he had good news and bad news. But first he wanted to ask me a question. He asked me if I had had a collision to my back about a year before in a car wreck or while playing a sport. I answered that I had collisions all the time, I play ice hockey in the local amateur league and about a year ago some one had crashed me into the boards from the back in our nice no contact league. Moving on. He said that made sense and the good news was he could fix me. The bad news was I had a broken neck. Well that's an exaggeration. I had a hairline fracture in my third vertebrae which had calcified up and was impeding the nerve transmissions to my right arm. The third vertebrae is where the nerves to the right arm start. I guess they don't teach that at med school. Three weeks later I was good as gold and have never had that problem since. So much for the wisdom of traditional medicine and specialists.
This example is not meant to condemn medical doctors. It simply points out that paradigms distort everyone's judgment, even the judgment of the 'gods who walk the earth', uh, medical doctors. Well that's how they expect to be treated. Ever asked someone to try a homemade remedy for an ache and pain. You almost always hear back later, my doctor said that it wouldn't work and might even hinder my treatment.
Closed minds. Sheep, being led to the slaughter by the Traditional Health Establishment.
Later sheep.
Welcome back, this is part five of the Health Jerk series. So far we have listed the many contributors to your good health. Parts 2, 3 and 4 were dedicated to the FDA and trying to understand exactly how the government is keeping us safe. On my scorecard, they come up a little short.
Let move our focus over to medical doctors. These poor souls spend half their lives in school trying to master the ever-increasing body of knowledge known as Medicine. All sarcasm aside, this has become a truly impossible task in recent decades. The body of knowledge is expanding exponentially and even with the help of high speed computers, no one can stay current.
There is one disturbing thing about all doctors older than say 30. That being, 10 years ago and earlier very little or no attention was given to nutrition at med school. This has changed and is changing more. What I mean by that is actual class time and courses are now dedicated to the advantages and effects of good nutrition. Also you may have noticed that the government recently modified the recommended food chart.
I can not talk about doctors without talking about health insurance and HMO's. Today health insurance is so important to the earnings of a doctor that almost all doctor offices have a person totally dedicated to completing the forms and interfacing with the health insurance companies. Have you gone to the doctors recently? You cannot get by the receptionist until you provide your valid health insurance card and make your co-payment.
Today's discussion is from my personal health history.
15 years ago, I started to lose the feeling in my right hand all the way down from the right shoulder. Not my left hand...angina, my right hand. I went to my family doctor and he decided it was joint damage in my shoulder from my misspent youth on a pitcher's mound. Whatever. The orthopedic specialist saw me and confirmed that it was shoulder damage and got out the big needle with cortisone and shot me up. Hurt like Hell. After a week it was probably worse and certainly not better.
My wife stepped in and insisted that I go to a chiropractor. I dragged myself into the quack's office and sat down. He insisted on an X-ray of my back and neck. I argued that the doctors, people with MD after their name, had said it was an injured shoulder. He ignored me. The next day he called me asked me to come in. I did. He said he had good news and bad news. But first he wanted to ask me a question. He asked me if I had had a collision to my back about a year before in a car wreck or while playing a sport. I answered that I had collisions all the time, I play ice hockey in the local amateur league and about a year ago some one had crashed me into the boards from the back in our nice no contact league. Moving on. He said that made sense and the good news was he could fix me. The bad news was I had a broken neck. Well that's an exaggeration. I had a hairline fracture in my third vertebrae which had calcified up and was impeding the nerve transmissions to my right arm. The third vertebrae is where the nerves to the right arm start. I guess they don't teach that at med school. Three weeks later I was good as gold and have never had that problem since. So much for the wisdom of traditional medicine and specialists.
This example is not meant to condemn medical doctors. It simply points out that paradigms distort everyone's judgment, even the judgment of the 'gods who walk the earth', uh, medical doctors. Well that's how they expect to be treated. Ever asked someone to try a homemade remedy for an ache and pain. You almost always hear back later, my doctor said that it wouldn't work and might even hinder my treatment.
Closed minds. Sheep, being led to the slaughter by the Traditional Health Establishment.
Later sheep.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Government Is Safe Guarding Our Health Care, Right?
Health Jerk Part Four
Hey there, Health Jerk here, I could do twenty parts of the government and your health, but just I'll do just one more part for this series, then we will move on to doctors...
The FDA is there to keep us safe from unsafe drugs and dietary supplements.
The USDA is there is keep us safe from tainted food.
The FTC is there to keep us safe from unfair and misleading trade practices like false advertising, fraud and cartels.
The FCC is there is keep us safe from products which make false claims in their advertisements in the various media.
The federal budgets set aside to keep us safe is immense. The 2007 FDA budget alone is over 2 billion.
It is the function of the PRESS to inform the public of the news, especially news which may impact our lives, our safety. It is also entertainment. I for one do not believe all that I read or see or hear. But here are a few interesting questions:
Why do the Japanese refuse to buy our beef?
How do Chinese products enter our marketplace without effective inspections, or at least as effective as those required for American made products? Mattel toys, pet food recalls...
How did Vioxx slip through the FDA approval process?
I am not going to beat a dead horse here but I find it entertaining in a macabre way to witness the warnings on products these days. Often the potential side-effects are worse than the symptoms of the original health complaint.
Finally, how can MEDICAL MISADVENTURE be the four leading cause of death in the United States today? And that assertion comes from the AMA, the American Medical Association.
I must ask the question. But first one more fact, do you realize that with approval and research costs today, that the cost to introduce a new drug into the American consumer marketplace is typically measured in tens of millions of dollars?
Ask we why health costs are out of control?
I just barely touched on health insurance which brings up Medicare and Medicaid. It brings up the concept of Universal Health Care. Is our good health for sale to the highest bidder? Is proper medical treatment only for those that can afford it? Let's not go there, we will be here for a week.
OK, I have spent some time talking about some of the issues which relate to the government and the responsible departments as they apply to your health, your well being, your safety. Let's move on to the Medicine and the doctors. Surely with all the modern medical schools in this country, our doctors must be the best educated and trained in the world?
Later sheep.
Hey there, Health Jerk here, I could do twenty parts of the government and your health, but just I'll do just one more part for this series, then we will move on to doctors...
The FDA is there to keep us safe from unsafe drugs and dietary supplements.
The USDA is there is keep us safe from tainted food.
The FTC is there to keep us safe from unfair and misleading trade practices like false advertising, fraud and cartels.
The FCC is there is keep us safe from products which make false claims in their advertisements in the various media.
The federal budgets set aside to keep us safe is immense. The 2007 FDA budget alone is over 2 billion.
It is the function of the PRESS to inform the public of the news, especially news which may impact our lives, our safety. It is also entertainment. I for one do not believe all that I read or see or hear. But here are a few interesting questions:
Why do the Japanese refuse to buy our beef?
How do Chinese products enter our marketplace without effective inspections, or at least as effective as those required for American made products? Mattel toys, pet food recalls...
How did Vioxx slip through the FDA approval process?
I am not going to beat a dead horse here but I find it entertaining in a macabre way to witness the warnings on products these days. Often the potential side-effects are worse than the symptoms of the original health complaint.
Finally, how can MEDICAL MISADVENTURE be the four leading cause of death in the United States today? And that assertion comes from the AMA, the American Medical Association.
I must ask the question. But first one more fact, do you realize that with approval and research costs today, that the cost to introduce a new drug into the American consumer marketplace is typically measured in tens of millions of dollars?
Ask we why health costs are out of control?
I just barely touched on health insurance which brings up Medicare and Medicaid. It brings up the concept of Universal Health Care. Is our good health for sale to the highest bidder? Is proper medical treatment only for those that can afford it? Let's not go there, we will be here for a week.
OK, I have spent some time talking about some of the issues which relate to the government and the responsible departments as they apply to your health, your well being, your safety. Let's move on to the Medicine and the doctors. Surely with all the modern medical schools in this country, our doctors must be the best educated and trained in the world?
Later sheep.
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