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.