Posted by
Corthell on Friday, December 18, 2009 5:49:47 PM
''Our current Government Healthcare Plan throws money at symptoms of the problem and makes cuts in areas that create/exacerbate other problems. They discontinue coverage of efficient and cost effective treatments and increase premiums/copays to patients while rewarding more expensive, prolonged and complex care.''
Excessive Government involvement is what's wrong with our current healthcare system.
One prominent example: FDA regulation and Medicare/Medicaid policies are suppressing new drug and device options and increasing healthcare costs. The FDA's approval process for new technologies costs companies between 250 and 800 million dollars. It takes an average of 8.5 years to move through the FDA's clinical and approval phases and there is no guarantee of approval. Out of 5000 compounds discovered in the pre-clinical stage, only about 5 will make it through. The cost of approved and non-approved drugs and devices are passed on to the physician practice, hospitals, surgery centers and patients. As a result, competition is shrinking and new treatments that can potentially save lives, cure chronic illnesses and decrease treatment costs are delayed by red tape and a high cost of entry.