True enough--but what good does a 'life saving' drug do you if you can't
afford it?  If a proverbial 'pill' that could cure the nastiest of cancers
in your body is 10 times beyond your reach, you're still gonna die.     A
woman in a town I used to live had placed 'jelly jars' in every nook and
cranny of the town trying to collect the $50000 she needed up front before
she could even get on the waiting list for a transplant (if memory serves,
she needed a liver) Her insurance did not cover transplants.  Despite the
best efforts of her and her family, she died; not waiting for a liver--but
for lack of money.
My cousin's husband went to the emergency room with a 103 fever.  He worked,
but had no insurance.  He was given no care and told to see his family
physician (which he also didn't have).  He died the next day of pneumonia
which could have been treated with relatively cheap antibiotics.   The
hospital has 'astoundingly' lost all record of his visit--except for the
bill.

I've worked for insurance companies and I've worked for hospitals.
Insurance companies try every trick in the book to prevent paying
anything--including automatic denials of all claims for a while, knowing
that a certain percentage of their patients will pay the bill out of pocket
to 'protect their credit rating', saving them the expense.  Hospitals stick
the stethoscope and thermometer in your wallet before they stick them
anywhere else these days.

Most doctors I've met are pretty good about treating first and asking how
many chickens you've got to trade later--it's the gatekeepers between them
and their patients that have much to answer for.



-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Wonsil [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2004 11:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] OT: The global economy


> BUT, heaven help the elderly who dare to buy their prescription drugs
> from a Canadian (Or Mexico) pharmacy. That's called un-American! And
> you think the pharmaceutical companies don't have a powerful lobby?
> Think again!

If drug companies could sell in Canada in a free market as all of the
previous examples then I might agree but there are price controls in Canada.
The non-price controlled markets are bearing the R&D/Regulatory costs for
Canada.  If price controls are effectively placed on the entire industry,
there will just be fewer drugs for the elderly to buy.  It's one way to
solve the high cost drug problem I guess.  On the other hand, if it means
not ever developing a drug that could save my life...

Mark W.

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