By Tom Braun, RPh.

The news focus everyday is on the Iraq War and not on domestic issues. President Bush's motivation to invade Iraq goes beyond terrorism and is seated in the concept that rapidly rising oil costs in this decade will topple the U. S. economy.

Our economy will be toppled not by oil but medical costs that are moving beyond most Americans ability to pay except for the rich. The fact that out sourcing of jobs beyond American borders as well as moving factories over seas are common place today is in part due to American business looking to reduce Healthcare costs to stay profitable. Job creation is stagnant and jobs lost are being replaced with lower cost service jobs.

The current announcement about higher costs in Medicare premiums is a sign it will get a lot worse before it gets better. Our governmental Medical Institutions such as the NIH, HHW and FDA have all become politicized and have lost sight of their charter. The FDA in particular is Brain Dead due to Big Pharma manipulating their drug oversight by lobbying our Congressman to change the rules to favor industry profits. There is no leadership at the FDA and we now have an inexperienced politically connected young physician named Mark McClellan (brother is Scott. Bush's Press Secretary) to be the leader of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Their dad was Mayor of Austin Texas. Get the picture?

In the private sector, our Medical Institutions have also lost sight of their role and have become part of the problem, as well as the Professional Institutions that the physicians belong to. They have all ignored the cost abuses of the medical system with their silence because in many ways they are reaping the rewards of the system. Medical and Business ethics have become secondary to self-interest in many areas.

The most outrageous area is with Big Pharma. They play a major role in not only the direct cost abuses, but also the resulting harm done to millions of patients that are over medicated and require additional medical treatment and added medical costs to correct the drug induced medical problems. To learn more about this go to www.garynull.com.

There are over 75 class action medical suits in progress against Brand Name prescription drugs. Go to www.bigclassaction.com to learn more. The magnitude of this problem is enormous.

Dr. Marcia Angell, M. D. has just published a book called "The Truth about the Drug Companies" that documents their "Modus Operandi". Dr. Angell is a Harvard trained physician who was the Editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine for over twenty years and observed how the industry was manipulating the medical profession. She has put into context in an easy to understand manner a factual accounting of Big Pharma's role. The book is available at www.amazon.com

Big Pharma is a Global business with 50% of their profit derived from U. S. operations because only the U. S. does not control prescription prices. They assured themselves that it would not change when they lobbied the Congressman in 2003 to pass the Medicare 2003 bill that does not permit Medicare to negotiate prices. Big Pharma has a 17% profit margin and pays less income tax than most businesses because of legislated loop holes that they lobbied Congress to pass. It is well worth the read and you will be as angry as I when you are finished.

Our Medical system is all about Money and not good Healthcare. There are many good well-intentioned medical professionals that are caught in a medical system that needs rebuilding from the ground up.

We must demand that Congress start an immediate bipartisan effort to fix the system. Maybe the Congressman doesn't care since they have their own cushy retirement program where they avoid the costly medical money problems that most Seniors are faced with.

In any event speak up and tell your Congressman you are feed up with this "laissez affaire" method of managing Healthcare in the U.S. The future welfare of our children and grand children are at stake, as well as the quality of life for the current seniors and the baby boomers that are coming of age.

Copyright © 2004 Thomas Braun

T. Braun, Pharmacist, Buyer, Marketing Executive for a Major Drug Chain. Active for over 45 years in Pharmacy.

You can write to Tom, c/o Suddenly Senior by writing frank@suddenlysenior.com

See Tom's recent columns, Confessions of a Drug Pusher, New Medicare Drug Cards Exposed, Me and My GERD, Why We Can't Win the War On Cancer, and AARP's Betrayal of Membership.

Legal Stuff: Disclaimer - This document is informational in nature. Medical advice should be secured through your physician.