The fact of the matter is that pharmaceuticals are very expensive to develop, and have only a very short copyright time for the pharmaceutical manufacturers to recoup the expenses. If they were only developing good, new drugs, I could understand this argument. Many new pharmaceuticals are copycat drugs. The difference between Floxiverve and Sqashamine is the different placement of a hydroxyl group. But it still is very expensive to run all the testing to show that Sqashamine is safe and effective. Many new drugs also seem to have far more nasty side effects than the drug they replace. Is Celebrate really that much better than ibuprofen, that we should put up with the side effects? “Doctor, this new drug makes me pass out. The old one didn’t.” “Maybe we should increase the dosage.” Face it. Americans are overmedicated, and they fall for the ad campaigns. “Ask your doctor if Feminamptermine is right for you.” “No, dude, that’s a drug for PMS.” Why do Americans pay more? A) Because we can afford it, B) We don’t have socialized medicine, and C) We’re a free-market country, and most of the medicines are developed here. The pharmaceutical companies do develop drugs for uncommon diseases. Those drugs will never pay for themselves. The people that they help love them. Someone has to pay for the research. It gets tacked on under ‘development costs.’ You may never suffer from broccoliformalitis. If you do, saladressamine will help you. If you paid your share of the development costs, you’d never be able to afford it. Canada has socialized medicine. All costs are controlled, including the price of pharmaceuticals. American pharmaceutical companies wishing to do business there have to deal with the guidelines of socialized medicine. Unfortunately, that means that US citizens pay proportionately more. Look at the losses that the pharmaceutical manufacturers are taking on providing AIDS medication to African countries. At least one major pharmaceutical company has stopped selling drugs in Canada. The profit is here, not there. I have also heard the negative side of socialized medicine in Canada. Long waits for necessary operations, and very high taxes to pay for the program. If you think taxes are high here, check into the tax rate in Canada or Sweden (another country with socialized medicine, and with an income tax rate of 50%.) I would trust Canadian pharmacies. I would not trust Mexican ones. Regulation in Mexico is poor. (I could do a whole essay on the state of medical care in Ukraine, but I shan’t at this point.) I do have prescription coverage through my employer-provided health care program. I pay $10, $20, or $35 per prescription, depending on whether it is generic, formulary, or non-formulary. The definition of ‘formulary’ seems to be any non-generic drug, unless Merck makes a drug in this field, in which case everyone else’s drug in that field is ‘non-formulary.’ Like Marilyn, if I’m on a drug that needs to be taken forever, I can get a 30% discount by ordering it via mail order for a 90 day supply. I have, however, received notice that the medication I took last year for my sinusitis, Dripannol hydrochloride, will no longer be covered, since Tavistock (a competing drug) has gone generic. Can we hear number crunching at work? What is the answer to the question? If we all buy our maintenance drugs from Canada, we will kill the goose that laid the golden egg, won’t we? ~ © Paul (AHikingDude@aol.com) ~ November 12, 2003 If you enjoyed this page, check these out: Stress Sledding Raindrops On My Heart I Wonder Why When Santa Was A Boy Rudolph And.......for many others, click the link for HOME. Home: Writers' Corner Index