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Business, Economics, Education, Entrepreneurs,
Environment, Science and Technology
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US Health Care
What's Behind the Highly Inflated Cost of Healthcare? Identifying the Cause and Providing a Solution
By Dr. David Tanton
"According to the FDA, more than 2 million serious adverse drug reactions
occur each year, and adverse drug reactions are the fourth-leading cause of
death, responsible for about 100,000 deaths each year." - USA Today, March
19, 2008.
Due to the current rapidly-evolving global economy, as a nation we are now
experiencing an ever-increasing threat to our industry. Our pay scale is
considerably higher than that of most developing countries, and due to the
rapidly increasing cost of employees' healthcare, we are losing our
competitive advantage. Then, as third world countries continue developing
their technology, that threat will just escalate, and thus must be
addressed. If not, and if the current trend is allowed to continue, our
economy will decline each year, until the problem is finally resolved.
Our society spends billions of dollars on employees' healthcare, a cost that
continues to escalate at an ever-increasing rate. The basic problem stems
from the high cost of the insurance premiums for employees, although, the
source of the problem is the increasing number of medications patients are
being placed on - partly due to direct advertising of drugs to the public.
Not only is the increasing cost of these premiums becoming a burden to
employers, but the end result is also reflected in employees' reduced
productivity. Companies will not be able to stay in business when a) they
have to continue paying high insurance premiums and b) their employees are
unproductive. Job security then becomes a main concern for the employee
because it's dependent upon the employer's ability to remain competitive and
stay in business. And the fault is our current flawed healthcare system -
not the employees.
Many unnecessary surgeries are also being performed each year. How much
surgery is really necessary? According to the late Dr. Robert S.
Mendelsohn's book, "Confessions of a Medical Heretic," around 90 percent of
surgery is a waste of time, money, energy, and life.
In 1992, Dr. Nortin Hadler, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University
of North Carolina Medical School, concluded that 95 to 97 percent of the
coronary bypass surgeries done that year were unnecessary - even though
patients are usually told that without the surgery they will die. This is a
very serious issue considering just how expensive and highly invasive bypass
surgery can be, and that additional surgeries are often necessary within
seven to 10 years!
In truth, just like surgeries, most medications prescribed by doctors today
are unnecessary; they don't offer a true cure but instead contribute to a
worsening of the patient's overall health. According to Dr. Charles E. Page,
M.D., "the cause of most disease is in the poisonous drugs physicians
superstitiously give in order to affect a cure." Fatigue, pain and
depression, are quite common side effects associated with many prescription
medications, all conditions that contribute to reduced productivity, as well
as increased insurance rates. According to a study conducted in 2002 by
Georgetown University, adults over 65 fill an average of 20 prescriptions
per year. And it's possible that because the Medicare Prescription "Benefit"
plan is now in place, that number will dramatically increase - that's a lot
of money!
Speaking of spending a lot of money, according to research by the non-profit
Life Extension Foundation, the average markup over the cost of the
ingredients in 16 of the most popular medications was an astounding 78,693
percent, making it the most profitable industry in the entire world. The
pharmaceutical companies will continue charging top dollar for drugs whose
risks far outweigh any potential benefit. While a lifetime of
symptom-suppressing drugs makes much more financial sense to the
manufacturer, it definitely doesn't help the employer who pays the higher
insurance costs, or the employee with poor health.
Primary Contributing Factor
We obviously can't continue doing the same things yet expect to get
different results; some necessary changes are in order. Research indicates
that time after time, people go through the following process:
1. They seldom need the medications they are taking.
2. Many medications are prescribed to treat side effects associated with
their other medications (the typical domino effect).
3. After withdrawing from unnecessary medications, patients' drug-related
symptoms soon disappeared.
4. Their health gradually begins to improve, as they no longer experienced
the nutritional deficiency that drugs often create.
5. They often feel more energetic, and with antidepressants, their emotions
returned and they began feeling more normal.
Where Does It All Start? And What's The Solution?
Dr. Sherry A. Rogers, M.D., in her book Detoxify or Die (2002), helps
identify the basic underlying problem when she quotes an article from the
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that "documented how over
87 percent of physicians who make up the panels of 'experts' who determine
the practice guidelines for medicine receive compensation from the drug
industry. These are the guidelines that your doctors and insurance companies
follow" (JAMA 287: 6,12-6 17, 2002). Unfortunately, we are not even allowed
to enjoy the basic freedom we should all enjoy - the freedom of choosing our
own healthcare.
If you, as the employer, are paying the premiums for your employees'
insurance, you and your employees should have a say in what coverage they
would prefer - not the insurance company.
As an employer, it's time to research self-insuring your employees - which
would result in considerable savings, as well as happier, healthier and more
productive employees - or find an insurance company that would provide
coverage for a true healthcare system; presently, none are known to exist.
Anyone with knowledge about nutrition, disease prevention and natural
therapies could help a corporation establish a far more cost-effective
healthcare program. Only by addressing the issue of discriminatory health
care coverage, which excludes natural therapies and nutritional supplements,
(proven to be far more effective, and much less expensive), can the problem
be truly resolved. This change must take place if we ever expect to finally
have a true, financially-sustainable healthcare system, based on disease
prevention.
"The necessity of teaching mankind not to take drugs and medicines is a duty
incumbent upon all who know their uncertainty and injurious effects; the
time is not far distant when the drug system will be abandoned." - Charles
Armbruster, M.D.
About the Author:
Dr. David Tanton graduated with honors from Clayton College of Natural
Healing with a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition, and is the founder and research
director or the Soaring Heights Longevity Research Center. He is the author
of the award-winning book, "A Drug-Free Approach to Healthcare" as well as,
"Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and Stimulants - Dangerous Drugs on Trial."
At the age of 74, Dr. Tanton is 100 percent drug free, and is in optimal
health. For more information, visit www.DrTanton.com or call 541-726-5959.
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