On to the moon and mars!

[Parrott_head]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

I have three questions, with some sub-questions, about the recently passed legislation concerning prescripton coverage for seniors. <br /><br />1) Is it true that seniors will not be allowed to purchase Medi-Gap insurance after this program becomes effective?<br /><br /> 1a) Why is this? <br /><br /> 1b) Wouldn't this help lower the cost to the taxpayer if some form of Medi-Gap insurance was payed for by the seniors able to affordt he premiums? Or at least help some of the seniors be able to cover their deductable?<br /><br />2) The Federal Government will be unable to negotiate on the prices charged by the pharmacutical companies for the products they provide? Is this factual?<br /><br /> 2a) Is this for all medications?<br /><br /> 2b) The Federal government uses competitive bidding for a lot of it's other purchases, what's wrong with giving the taxpayer a tool commonly used in nearly any financial transaction?<br /><br /> 3) Is it possible that our elected representitives tipped the scales towards the pharmaceutical companies due to the amount of lobbying by this industry? http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=1130 <br /><br />I do applaud the efforts by our elected representives of ALL parties at all levels to try to address this issue. It is a very complex and emotionally charged issue. However I think that somwhere along the way the focus was lost.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Parrott_head

 

[plywoody]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

There are all sorts of caveats involved in this convoluted bill. One of which is it appears that it will no longer be possible for anyone to import drugs from Canada.<br /><br />I don't think everything is known about this bill exactly, as it is something like 1100 pages long, and yes it will help some seniors pay for some drugs.<br /><br />All I know for sure was there were somewhere in the range of 200 lobbyists for the drug companies, and a similar number for HMO's helping draft this legislation, and my hunch is they are not all focused on helping seniors--but time will tell.

 

[Carphunter]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

Sung to the theme of Rawhide .... "trollin, 'trollin, 'trollin,.... Plywoody is 'a trollin,......blah, blah, .................well you know the rest.

 

[62_Kiwi]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

You have to hand it to GW, during his term in the presidency he's well and truly put the USA back on the map in terms of world leadership. <br /><br />...and when it comes to doing great things, there's always a million reasons not to do it.<br /><br />Fighting tyranny and pushing the frontiers of science and human achievement. Wow, great stuff!<br /><br />

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

There are all sorts of caveats involved in this convoluted bill. One of which is it appears that it will no longer be possible for anyone to import drugs from Canada.

Oh Canada our home and native land... come on sing it with me... <br /><br />Great post JB <br /><br />See, I have to stop even looking at the titles of these threads I almost missed this one!

 

[plywoody]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

Oh, now I understand it! It is my patriotic duty to pay twice what I need to for presciptions so that the drug companies can make their profits, and still have multi-millions available to inundate me with Viagra ads. And sponsor a Nascar car or two. Now it makes sense.<br /><br />And I always thought that conservatives were in favor of free trade and competition, but I guess I was wrong.<br /><br />It is hard to tell what they are for, but from the available evidence it would seem they are primarily in favor of campaign contributions.

 

[plywoody]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

Actually, in my original post I very carefully avoided any conclusion of the wisdom and the necessity of establishing a base on the moon, or a manned trip to mars.<br /><br />My main point was in the wisdom of announcing it and at the same time having no plan for funding it. We are already running deficits of a half trillion a year, and committing to another trillion of expenditures without a plan to fund it seems a bit reckless to me. Despite what Cheney says, deficits do matter.<br /><br />It is kind of like when my daughter was 5, and my brother promised her that Santa was going to bring her a horsey for Christmas. She was all excited, of course, but since neither my brother nor Santa was willing to step up and pay for it, I got to be the one to break the bad news.<br /><br />So which future administration is going to explain to all these space enthusiasts that either we need additional sources of revenue to fund it, or it isn't going to happen.

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

Hey PW you are just paying for all the regulation liberals set up. Kind of hypocritical to put all the barriers and hoops in place and then run to Canada when you need a prescription filled. Of course you do risk getting a non FDA approved drug in Canada like Thalidomide and having badly deformed children. But hey, the script is cheap.<br /><br />If you think Viagra and other lifestyle drugs are being subsidized by health drugs I'd love to see your evidence. I'd be willing to bet it is the other way around. <br /><br />

SAFETY CONCERNS<br /><br />For public health reasons, FDA remains concerned about the importation of prescription drugs into the U.S. In our experience, many drugs obtained from foreign sources that either purport to be or appear to be the same as U.S.-approved prescription drugs are, in fact, of unknown quality. FDA cannot assure the American public that drugs imported from foreign countries are the same as products approved by FDA.<br /><br />FDA has long taken the position that consumers are exposed to a number of risks when they purchase drugs from foreign sources or from sources that are not operated by pharmacies licensed under state pharmacy law. These outlets may dispense expired, subpotent, contaminated or counterfeit product, the wrong or a contraindicated product, an incorrect dose, or medication unaccompanied by adequate directions for use. The labeling of the drug may not be in English and therefore important information regarding dosage and side effects may not be available to the consumer. The drugs may not have been packaged and stored under appropriate conditions to avoid degradation. There is no assurance that these products were manufactured under current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) standards. When consumers take such unsafe or inappropriate medications, they face risks of dangerous drug interactions and other serious health consequences....<br /><br />On May 7, 2003, the NABP and the Canadian National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities endorsed a statement opposing illegal importation of prescription drugs. In the statement, the two groups state that they are mutually committed to working together to support the individual members of their organizations as they fulfill their regulatory mandates. The Canadian and American regulatory bodies are calling on law enforcement agencies to promote compliance with Federal, state, and provincial pharmacy laws and standards of Canada and the U.S. in their respective jurisdictions. This is the first time that the regulatory authorities of the two nations have jointly responded to the growing practice of importation of drugs into the U.S. from Canada.<br /><br />On May 13, 2003, 44 U.S. pharmacy groups joined forces with the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) to endorse a statement opposing illegal importation of prescription drugs. These groups include many of the state boards of pharmacy and academic institutions schools of pharmacy.<br /><br />On May 23, 2003, FDA issued an alert on counterfeit Lipitor. The alert warned health care providers and others that three lots of counterfeit Lipitor represent a potentially significant risk to consumers. One in five people have high cholesterol that may lead to cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and stroke. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), every 33 seconds, someone in the U.S. dies due to cardiovascular disease. (Source: AHA 2002 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update) Lipitor is the number one prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication, and is currently used by more than 18 million people. Lipitor is proven to lower total cholesterol and decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. FDA investigators have aggressively pursued a variety of leads all along the supply and distribution chain in an effort to identify the source of this counterfeit activity.<br /><br />

http://www.fda.gov/ola/2003/canadian0612.html <br /><br />But hey, why be concerend, the Canadian health care system is great!

 

[crab bait]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

yeah,yeah,yeah... bush just wants to be the first president to put a man on mars...<br /><br />howard dean..

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

roflmao @ CB - he is going to send Paul O'Neil with him

 

[Carphunter]

Re: On to the moon and mars!

Plywoody, I don't understand, why didn't you just buy the horsey for your daughter, instead of crushing a little 5 year olds dreams?<br /><br />Some things are really puzzling to me.