News & Features

August, 2007

August edition of M.D. Pharmacy's monthly newsletter. Late breaking news regarding your medicines and the prices you pay for them. Please share this with your neighbors.

Michael Moore's "SiCKO" is a must see movie

We don't usually do movie reviews, especially of movies we have not seen, but secret memos from some of the health care company's executive officers who were instructed to see the movie in order to gauge the public's reaction said in part "You would have to be dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie". They also reported a previously unseen phenomenon of groups of strangers gathering on the street after viewing the movie, discussing their outrage at the excesses of the government in concert with the health care companies, which was brought to light by the movie. Insurance company executives are reported to be "depressed" and are convinced that the only way they can escape significant negative impact is if the movie "flops", not a likely scenario in light of initial box-office figures. Nixon Oval Office tapes are used to show how the initial idea of a "less care equals more profit" enterprise was supported by his administration and became the HMO paradigm, and even documents cases where the doctors with the highest percentage of denials are paid a bonus. Legislators are presented as bought stooges for the political agendas of insurers and big Pharma. Insurers are the middle men in the Medicare Modernization Act-which is presented as a trick to charge seniors more for their prescription drugs. The health care providers most mentioned are Kaiser Permanente, Humana, CIGNA, Blue Cross of California and Aetna. No big Pharma companies are specifically mentioned but the movie suggests in multiple instances that prescription drugs in America are overpriced.

FDA again warns of internet drug sales

We've all seen recently revealed of cases of poisons being detected in toothpaste and dog food originating from China. There have also been cases of automobile tires from China losing their tread on the highway resulting in deaths. By the same token, drugs purchased from internet pharmacies have an unknown but possibly lethal source. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued another warning last week about the dangers of buying medications via the internet. FDA officials said new data show that consumers are continuing to buy drugs from internet outlets in an attempt to save money on expensive drugs sold in the United States, an unnecessary tactic because many low-cost generic versions have recently become available in the U.S.A. Officials said consumers should be aware of safety concerns of drugs purchased from unregulated internet sellers.

"Something's rotten in Part D" says Committee Chairman Pete Stark

U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark called for more consumer protections in Medicare Part D. "The private insurance companies that administer the Part D prescription drug benefit are taking advantage of the overwhelming number of coverage options to bamboozle seniors," he said. Because of inertia, seniors tend to stay in plans that may not be the best option for them. We have seen in our own practice a reluctance of seniors to change to better plans during the yearly sign-up window, either through inertia, or receiving bad advice from paid representatives of some of the health care insurers. Stark supports a Medicare-administered plan in which the agency negotiates drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. We definitely agree.

High dose statins good for older patients

U.S. scientists have found older patients with stable cardiovascular disease benefit from high dosage cholesterol lowering drugs used by younger patients. Lead investigator Dr. Nanette Wenger, a professor of medicine at Emory U. School of Medicine, said "researchers found not only do older patients benefit from statin therapy, but aggressive use of high-dose statins to reduce LDL cholesterol to levels lower than 100mg/dL provided additional benefit".

As Co-pay rises, drug usage drops

Attempts to get consumers in prescription drug plans to pay more for their pills appears to result in less use of medications-and more use of more expensive hospitalization and emergency department services according to U.S. researchers. Pharmaceutical advances resulting in improved though more expensive drugs are causing health benefit plans to attempt to make the consumers pay the difference in cost.

The pharmacists and staff at M.D. Pharmacy, your neighborhood pharmacy.

« Back to News & Features