Speaking of doctors…there are very few doctors who participate in the blogging world. This is too bad. They might learn something.
Now, speaking of patients; there are plenty who blog and plenty of them have complaints. Here’s my litany…and I’m not even a patient, yet.
I learned the other day that some of those tests that the medical profession insists we need, regularly, are not all that easy to obtain. Mammogram; that’s a 6 week wait. Colonoscopy; you have to wait 3 months. Yet these tests are so vital to our health, so important…that we are advised by public service announcements on television and radio, plus the print media, to get one today! Right…
And prescription drugs…you may have noticed that all of the big box pharmacy companies are expanding like crazy. Walgreen’s, Longs, Rite Aid and etc. It’s not being done to give you even more places to shop for lawn furniture and greeting cards. They carry that stuff as a sideline. The real money is in prescription drugs and more importantly, Medicare and your supplemental insurer’s kind of drugs…the expensive kind.
A lady I know was recently given (free) some drug samples of a fairly expensive drug; a 30 day supply. Nice. And this was the second time it happened. Double nice for her. But let’s suppose that only happens about 30% of the time; the doctor looks in the box that the pharmaceutical company rep dropped off and sees a drug that will work for you. He hands it over and the next time you see him, you ask if he has any more? He looks; sure enough the rep has given him another box full. It all sounds good…except for the person who didn’t get the free stuff. Somebody has to pay for all those giveaways. And someone has to pay for all of the television advertising, all of the 2-full page print ads. Oh, and the third time you go to the doctor and ask about the free stuff? Nope. It’s payback time.
And when the doctor hands out free medicine…I suspect (Shame on me!) that he has some obligation to the drug company now. This is exactly what they had planned.
So what do think the cost of drugs would be if we didn’t pay for all of the above? ½? Maybe even 1/3?
My doc gave me a ton of samples when I informed him I would be without insurance for a few months (and not able to afford my expensive medication).
ReplyDeleteSteve just so you know every industry gives away in order to get a return later. Do you know who pay's for the "Paint a School" program, or who pay's for the free 25 gallon intro offer for potential new customers (painting contractors)?
Alot of stuff is sold at different prices. The painter that paid 17.85 per gallon for paint was helping to pay for the model home paint given to the builders as an incentive to use our paint. I had painters buying paint at 10.55 a gallon. Cost was 3.50 and you would have paid 21.95 per gallon (as a retail customer). What might really piss you off is that paint is getting cheaper to make with advances is thickeners, detergents, and equally important supply chain advances.
I am thankful for having such a wonderful doctor, I have been fortunate to have many wonderful doctors over my life time.