united health care ad

[DC Tom]

3. There is a pill for everything now and I'm amazed at how many people young and old are on meds for every little thing real and imagined. ****, Viagara is an insurance scam. Too many people and too many doctors are pill happy. If people had a financial stake in their prescription plans, they might make different and better decisions.

 

That, at least, is far more complex issue than you outlined. HMOs love pills as a cost-cutting measure and revenue increasing measure (a prescription is far cheaper and less time-consuming than a referral.) Doctors are not infrequently pushed to prescribe rather than treat for just that reason. Patients generally have less say in the matter than they should (how many people challenge their doctor when they write a script?) The drug companies foster ALL of this with their sales campaigns and - worst - their direct-to-consumer advertising. And the FDA validates it all with the attitude that new drugs MUST be hurried to market, as medication is so vitally important to the health industry - an attitude ironically circularly justified by very practices itself validates.

 

But you know what'll fix that? Single-payer.

[Alaska Darin]

That, at least, is far more complex issue than you outlined. HMOs love pills as a cost-cutting measure and revenue increasing measure (a prescription is far cheaper and less time-consuming than a referral.) Doctors are not infrequently pushed to prescribe rather than treat for just that reason. Patients generally have less say in the matter than they should (how many people challenge their doctor when they write a script?) The drug companies foster ALL of this with their sales campaigns and - worst - their direct-to-consumer advertising. And the FDA validates it all with the attitude that new drugs MUST be hurried to market, as medication is so vitally important to the health industry - an attitude ironically circularly justified by very practices itself validates.

 

But you know what'll fix that? Single-payer.

Don't confuse the visionary with little things like facts. Especially after the Chosen One gave Big Pharma a "Get Out of Jail Free" card before the giant abortion was even in the womb.

[birdog1960]

That, at least, is far more complex issue than you outlined. HMOs love pills as a cost-cutting measure and revenue increasing measure (a prescription is far cheaper and less time-consuming than a referral.) Doctors are not infrequently pushed to prescribe rather than treat for just that reason. Patients generally have less say in the matter than they should (how many people challenge their doctor when they write a script?) The drug companies foster ALL of this with their sales campaigns and - worst - their direct-to-consumer advertising. And the FDA validates it all with the attitude that new drugs MUST be hurried to market, as medication is so vitally important to the health industry - an attitude ironically circularly justified by very practices itself validates.

 

But you know what'll fix that? Single-payer.

no one pushes me to prescribe rather than refer. i often don't refer if i feel invasive evaluation/intervention is likely to do more harm than good or even result in further uncertainty. tests are often refused by private insurers but less frequently by medicare and i've never had a referral questioned unless out of network (again primarily by private insurers). dtc advertising should be banned tomorrow (the us is the only nation that i'm aware of that allows it). have you seen any administration address this? the current admin is not an outlier in this regard and this is one of many disappointments to progressives. single payer is not a panacea. health reform is a work in progress. have you read daschle's book? a board of medical experts without industry ties could define best practices and reasonable care similar to that used in the UK. industry stipends to faculty at influential academic institutions could be banned or limited (harvard recently took small steps in this direction). the FDA could be restructured, idealistic? radical? against the grain? no doubt. but what we have is failing and unsustainable. the status quo is not a long term option.

[Doc]

That, at least, is far more complex issue than you outlined. HMOs love pills as a cost-cutting measure and revenue increasing measure (a prescription is far cheaper and less time-consuming than a referral.) Doctors are not infrequently pushed to prescribe rather than treat for just that reason. Patients generally have less say in the matter than they should (how many people challenge their doctor when they write a script?) The drug companies foster ALL of this with their sales campaigns and - worst - their direct-to-consumer advertising. And the FDA validates it all with the attitude that new drugs MUST be hurried to market, as medication is so vitally important to the health industry - an attitude ironically circularly justified by very practices itself validates.

True, it's great for both the patient and HMO's. Which is why having some skin in the game is important, as is ensuring that patients are doing all they can on their end to control their diseases. But that involves legislating their behavior (I guess they could call THAT a tax as well ) and/or monitoring them, which limits freedom or costs more money.