Pharmaceuticals, November Strategy and Beef StewDear Mark: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen SebElius was on MSNBC this week and basically said that one of the goals of the health care bill was to reduce pharmaceutical companies' profits by $90 billion. How will going after pharmaceutical companies help the health care situation? — Healthy Hank in Hondo Dear Healthy: If the government goes after pharmaceutical profits, there will be less money for research and development. Less research means fewer new drugs, and fewer new drugs means more people will die. More people dying means fewer people require health coverage from the government. Badda boom, badda bing, health care costs go down. Actually, the pharmaceutical industry is just one more evil villain to be punished and subsequently controlled by the Barack Obama administration. Referring to reducing pharmaceutical profits, Sebelius went on to say, "That's part of the strategy moving forward." The reason the pharmaceutical industry is such an easy target is because prescription drugs are the out-of-pocket expense patients actually see. Most patients can't tell you the price of an MRI or a colonoscopy, but they darn sure can tell you the co-pay on their cholesterol or erectile dysfunction medicines. Pharmaceutical spending as a percentage of overall health care costs has remained around 10 percent for the last 40 years. So, even if the administration eliminated 100 percent of pharmaceutical profits, the decrease in health care costs would be minimal, at best. The real culprit in the rising cost of health care is not the insurance industry, as Democrats would have you believe, but people themselves. As a whole, people eat too much, drink too much, smoke too much, tan too much, ingest too many illegal drugs and practice too much unsafe sex. People maintain unhealthy lifestyles but expect miracle pills to bail them out.
Dear Mark: I'm depressed about the passage of the Democrats' health care bill. What should our strategy be to reverse this horrible piece of legislation? — Feeling Frustrated in Florida Dear Feeling: The first thing to remember is that we've been knocked down but not knocked out. The overall strategy should be to continue the fight with the ultimate goal to win back the House and Senate in November. Conservatives should promise to repeal the negative aspects of the bill while emphasizing the aspects conservatives and liberals agree upon. Conservatives must also promote a succinct alternative to Obamacare. Additionally, we should support the efforts to bring the constitutionality of the bill's federal mandates before the Supreme Court. We must act quickly because even as we speak, Democratic California Rep. Lynn Woolsey plans to "introduce a robust public option bill" as soon as possible. Dear Mark: Health care reform is the law of the land. Can you finally say something positive about it? — Watching and Walking in Wichita Falls Dear Watching: Ummmmm, President Obama wore a nice tie during the signing ceremony? The health care bill is like beef stew where the cook used rancid meat. Many of the ingredients are tasty, but overall the stew has been ruined by the most important ingredient, the beef. With regards to this bill, addressing pre-existing conditions, portability and insuring more children are all fine ingredients. Unfortunately, the budget-busting price, the federal mandates and the additional burdens on business ruin the stew. Dear Mark: You stink! Shut up! Dear Whoever You Are: Thanks for reading. Is there a question? Dear Mark is a public platform for your enrichment and entertainment. E-mail your questions to marklevy92@aol.com. To find out more about Mark Levy, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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