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Pish tosh...the governemental regulations, HMO's and Insurance companies are the source of our ills today.

I have been in the pharmaceutical business for over 25 years. My wife has also been in the hospital and laboratory setting for close to 30 years.

It used to be, Dr's would fix a sick person, submit insurance claim, insurance would pay the bill.

In 1981-1982 the Insurance companies and HMO's started colluding to rip off the consumers, hospitals and the pharma business.

Basically, the Insurance Co's and HMO's decided to create and institute "Diagnostic Related Groups"--DRG's for short--so that any procedure would have a single, fixed cost to the insurance co. Thus, an appendectomy fee would be set at say, $1200 for the doctor, anaesthesiologist, drugs, bed, room, etc. If you did it for only $1000, then the favorability would be your "profit"...and that started it all...

Everyone started trying to cut their costs left and right so the insurance re-imbursement would cover the operation but, then other appendectomies with complications might cost $5000, you lose money on that one.

HMO's in the meantime, started to become "NO PAYMENT" centers, in that they would deny coverage on as much of a bill as they possibly could. This forced the consumer to resubmit claims over and over but others would simple never challenge the denials of coverage, letting the HMO and Insurance Co's pocket the profits.

And lastly, the "EVIL" pharmaceutical companies are being squeezed out as they just try to make back the investment costs for new drug development. It takes 10 years and $100's of MILLIONS of money to develope a new chemical entity, prove it works in animals, then humans and then prove all that to the FDA. Then two years later, you find out you have problems...a la VIOXX...Oooops...

PharmaCo's these days are starting to feel the pressure from overseas. In the USA we are faced with tremendous good manufacturing practices and labor costs just to make sure the documentation to make drugs is good. The facilities must be clean and well kept. Companies in INDIA and other ASIAN and European co's are coming into the USA with devices and drugs that are relatively safe, in fact probably exact molecular copies of the active ingredients, since INDIA doesn't impose PATENT Protection, however, I suspect the FDA hasn't inspected their facilities like they do US facilities. I don't know about you , but I like to have the windows in my drug plants closed because we have air conditioning and not next to a pig farm with chicken feathers flying into the sterile filling room...and God knows what they do with all those Sacred Cows running around...???

Just look at the UK Vaccine Co. CHIRON, they were to provide 50% of our US flu vaccine, but they had "contamination" in their batches, perhaps salmonella from some bad eggs? or some other bacterial or fungal infection...and in order to isolate and segregate good batches from bad they have to destroy some many lots on either side of the failure. So it goes, several million bucks down the drain, literally. There are not many companies that can afford to throw millions down the drain because some guy didn't clean a mixing tank properly, hence you only have a few companies making vaccine. And, certainly not here in the US where there are no limits on legal suits because little Tommy got a littlefever from his dose and was crying for two days but is fine now...

I'm completely convinced this is what has been going on in the years past. How do we fix it? Tort reform for one, that will be a big start. Erase this litigious society where stupid people get to sue because they didn't understand the risks of surgery. Medicine is NOT an exact science, doctors and nurses are human beings. They WILL make mistakes, hopefully not one that will kill you. When they do make a mistake that results in maiming or death, then fine--sue them. IF they did it because they were in a hurry and forgot or didn't read a label etc, then they are at fault. But when a Dr. does his best and nothing he did was wrong, it's not reasonable to award $50Million in damages because Uncle Bob was 80 years old and his heart transplant really didn't take, HE WAS OLD !!!

That's enough for now.

G