Although it does not often make headline news, there’s been a slow but steady increase in the number of overdoses and deaths due to the abuse of the narcotic painkillers. Unfortunately, many of the prescription drugs give a high similar to the more direct derivatives from the poppy. This makes them very popular. In part, this problem is being driven by the way in which Medicaid is working. This is the health insurance program funded by the taxpayers for the benefit of those who fall below the poverty line as defined in each state. Most people agree it’s a necessary safety net for all those who have been priced out of the private health insurance market and cannot get jobs with a health plan. But, as always, there’s a weakness that can be exploited. The prescriptions written by physicians are not completely free. The co-payments are usually around $3 per prescription. Now let’s suppose a patient with a legitimate injury and a medical history showing previous prescriptions asks for another prescription. The physician will usually oblige with no questions asked. A prescription for 200 Oxycodone pills at 30 mg is worth about $2,000 if you know the right people. This places a terrible temptation in the path of the poor who are often desperate for cash.
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Economists and those federal government folk who justify their existence by putting together a picture of economic activity say it takes at least two years for the effect of a recession to show up in national statistics and trends. This has nothing to do with the real-time counting of unemployment or the national debt. When there’s a downturn, some market sectors actually improve their performance. So, for example, when the international value of the dollar falls, exports become more competitive and sales rise. To see a national pattern emerge therefore takes time as all the different state and federal agencies put together their numbers, and then send them up the line for a national picture to be drawn. One of the numbers we have been waiting for is national healthcare spending. You will remember there are few controls on spending included in the Affordable Care Act, and those that will have an impact are not due to come into force until 2014. Despite this, there was only a marginal increase in 2010. In fact, it was the second-smallest increase over the last fifty years. So what factors have brought us to this point? Obviously, the consistently high levels of unemployment have reduced family incomes. Add in the fear of unemployment and those still in work have been paying down their debts and refusing discretionary spending. To maintain their profitability, insurers have been passing on more costs to us through higher deductibles and co-payments. More employers have been cutting their health benefits and passing on more of the cost to their employees. The net effect has been a significant reduction in the use of medical services. We have refused to consult physicians as often. We delay going to hospital until our conditions are too serious to ignore. We have been asking for fewer prescriptions. The result is the spending per head of population was $8,402 in 2010. |
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