Ranting Again!
As you have probably figured out by now, I am what is known as a 'Senior Citizen'. Funny, I don't feel any different now that I did as a 'Junior Citizen'!
One of my biggest gripes (and I am not alone here!) is the cost of prescription drugs. The present Government Administration has made a big deal of saving us 'Seniors' money by passing a bill to add a prescription benefit to Medicare. Well, folks, that isn't the answer. True, under the present situation it will help a lot of people living below the poverty level to get prescriptions at a lower cost.
In my opinion, the way to fix this problem without making Medicare pick up the bill (read 'Taxpayer), is to put a limit on what the drug companies can charge for these expensive drugs.
Oh, they say, 'Research and development is so expensive, we have to charge what we do to recover our costs'.
Well, I say 'B**l!'.
I read just the other day that the drug companies spent one billion dollars last year on advertising. One billion dollars! That's outrageous! They spend all that money making people think 'That's what I need', so they go to their doctor and tell the doctor that's what they want and the doctor prescribes it for them.
As soon as the drug is available as a generic, the drug companies have another 'newer and better' replacement available. Read 'Costs more'.
I rather think that only people with insurance coverage are requesting these expensive drugs and guess what, that makes our insurance cost more.
As more and more of these outrageously expensive drugs become available, more and more folks are taking more and more drugs. I am sure that some of the newest drugs are saving lives. But I do wonder, how many people are taking so many drugs that are causing adverse reactions?
After seeing Vioxx being removed from the market and questions being raised about the safety of other drugs in the same class, really makes you wonder, doesn't it!
Read why you should always read the fine print for medications: (OK, so it isn't real, but it could be!)
http://www.panexa.com/