fromabove,

The things that I said in my earlier posts weren't meant to be taken as Gospel. To be honest, I really don't know what the exact reason for the rising cost of healthcare in this country is, but what I was trying to say was that I don't believe that medical malpractice suits are the culprit alone.

I mentioned that the Pharmaceutical companies play a major role in this, as well, since practically every doctor that I've gone to see in the last 3 years or so have all of a sudden changed their tune about what they will and will not prescribe to a patient. I have 2 sisters who work for a private practice, as well as a few friends who work in them as well, and they've related stories to me about how the doctors that they work for have meetings with drug reps who give them free samples, free lunches, promotional items, etc., in the hopes that this will make them more apt to push their medications because of all of the kickbacks they receive from these pharmaceutical companies.

Do you think that this might have anything to do with the rising cost of healthcare? Because I see a major connection between the 2, especially when you consider the fact that almost everyone I know that had been on a medication for years were suddenly "cut off" and encouraged to try these other medications that are being advertised by these drug reps. And I'm not just talking about narcotics, I'm talking about just about every kind of medication you can imagine, whether it be allergy medication or anti-seizure meds. My aunt, who is epileptic, was on Dilantin for close to 10 years. She was seizure free for close to 5 years, and then, all of a sudden, her doctor switched her to a new medication, and since then, she's been hospitalized at least 5 or 6 times. No matter how much she's pleaded with her doctor to put her back on the Dilantin, he refuses to do it and keeps telling her that eventually, her body will adjust to the new medication and she won't have seizures anymore. I think that practices such as this are despicable, and no doctor with any kind of compassion would put a patient through this kind of hell.

So, essentially, what I was trying to point out is if your family doctor knows for a fact that there is an affordable medication that works effectively for whatever ails you, then why all of a sudden are they all pushing the "new" drugs, which are much more expensive because there are no generics available for them yet? And that's not even touching the issue of whether or not this medication might work for you or not. In many cases, they don't, and these doctors don't give a rat's behind. Why is that? Does medical malpractice suits have anything to do with this at all? What it all comes down to in my eyes is dollar signs, which seems very cold and greedy to me.

But I'm breaking my own rule here. I said that I'm done posting in this thread and I mean it this time. I'm not saying that I don't respect your point of view or agree with some of your points, I'm just saying that I can't be impartial when it comes to this subject in general. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm biased on the subject, and that is surely a recipe for disaster when you're debating about such an emotionally charged issue. Like I said before, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes. It's not in my nature to get involved in such heated debates. FWIW, though, I will say that I respect your opinions about some things, just not all of them.

Take care,

Eeyore