I have seen where American medicine is headed under national health care. My mother-in-law and I are insured by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which recently sent letters to each of us asking us to opt for generic drugs whenever possible.
The other day, my mother-in-law went to the drug store to have her blood pressure prescription refilled and was told that Blue Cross would not approve the prescription because there was no generic drug for the prescription. The pharmacist told her that Blue Cross would need to call her doctor to find out why the doctor was prescribing that particular drug instead of another drug for which there is a generic alternative.
Under national health care, the government is going to be even more demanding for doctors to prescribe only generic drugs to save money. Generics are a great way to save money, but such an approach is a sure way to eliminate the development of new drugs.
If no insurance company will allow the filling of prescriptions for non-generic drugs and the government mandates the use of only generic drugs, then the drug manufactures will not develop any new drugs because they know they will not be able to sell them. This country has been the world leader in the development of new drugs. That will end soon if American health care is nationalized.
I have seen the future of American medicine, and it is not pretty.
JACK DUCKWORTH
Burke, Va.
By Richard W. Rahn - The Washington Times
By Dr. Milton R. Wolf - The Washington Times
By David A. Keene - The Washington Times
By Richard W. Rahn
Budget fantasy won't help us cope with coming fiscal disaster
