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U.S. Pays Millions for Unapproved Drugs

U.S. taxpayers have paid at least $200 million since 2004 for medications that have never been reviewed by the government for safety and effectiveness, but are still covered under Medicaid.

The availability of unapproved prescription drugs may create a dangerous false sense of security; dozens of deaths have been linked to these drugs.

Medicaid paid nearly $198 million from 2004 to 2007 for more than 100 unapproved drugs, mostly for common conditions such as colds and pain. Medicaid officials acknowledge the problem, but say they need help from Congress to fix it.


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (8)
 
 
Posted On Nov 25, 2008
Drugs should be controlled only by health-governments ,healthcare too! Money shall not talk in these cases but necessity. Otherwise many deseases don`t get researched on because of poor profitability as it is today. By the way you get a lot of desinformation because of threatening profitability when questioning drugs. Research should basicly be organized by universities as it is in almost all other researching. Then you will get rid of unnecessary drugs and gigantic costs! These savings will then gain both research and healthcare. I`ll take a risk again:Why not look  on European solutions reg. organization of health-governments and healthcare!

 
ulfpohl
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 11/2008
ulfpohl  
Replied

Sheila C
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 1/2007
Sheila C  
 
Posted On Nov 25, 2008
Ulfpohl, we also have government run healthcare in Canada.  But the fact remains that NONE of these pharmaceutical drugs are tested by Health Canada.  They rely on the manufacturer to provide all the test results.  So if the test results aren't so good, they might not provide Health Canada with the testing.  Plus Health Canada is in bed with the pharmaceutical companies.  The Minister of Health for Alberta recently hired an American drug marketer (probably for Gardasil, because too many people are asking questions).  Definitely a lose/lose situation.
Interesting article, to know that 100 drugs on the shelves have not been approved.  The FDA "also has seized millions of dollars' worth of medications" and what?   Put them back into the system?  Sold them on the black market?  FDA approval means nothing anyway, they do not do their own testing of any pharmaceutical drug either.


Sheila C
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 1/2007
Sheila C  
 
Posted On Nov 25, 2008
No name, people die all over the world waiting for surgery.  Why are you so down on ulfpohl?  I find it interesting to get different perspectives.
But now that you've said it, how exactly are consumers going to control drugs?  Please tell us how you are going to pull that off.  And don't go off on a rant about how we have to get rid of the government, sorry that will never happen.


stoic
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 3/2007
stoic  
 
Posted On Nov 25, 2008
Bluntly, Europe has no solutions....regulations, control, barriers to competitive entry - these are false premises, & counterproductive, not solutions...these have created what exists now. Amazingly, people continue to call for more of the same..."hair of the dog that bit 'em".... 

BUT, socialism in america is already long since a fait accompli, as much as americans like to loll about in the defunct mythos of rugged individualism & self-reliance...gone baby, gone....

Sheila...here are two suggestions for acquiring different perspectives:
free subscribe to lewrockwell.com to receive daily, in one email, 10 or so essays, delving into just about anything you can think of in the socioeconomic sphere (which is what we are engaged with on this board), very well written, easy to understand...; for a more literary treatment, get a copy of Gulliver's Travels (not a child's version, tho), by Jonathan Swift...it has been in continuous print for almost 300 years, & its satire, of human nature, is just as relevant now as it was when first written.

Dip into these, for 6 months or so, & see what you think of the socialist perspective then......   


stoic
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 3/2007
stoic  
 
Posted On Nov 26, 2008
ulfpohl...this just came across the wire...read just the first part, as it applies to the thread - then click the link to the original essay (in that same first part), which adds flesh....

http://tinyurl.com/65ruz5

socialism / cartelism raises prices, decreases supply, decreases innovation, in medicine, as in every other area of economy.....

 
 
 
Posted On Nov 25, 2008
Sheila C! I agree with you! In Europe I think we have the same problems as Canada. No system is perfect but I wonder which one is less evil and how to develop. We have to get rid of profitability-thinking when considering healthcare.
No Name! Please stop talking politics! You know the  recent outcome-beeing deleted by "sanitary" reasons-I agree with Dr Mercola. I will deal with reality and best economical outcome! I`m not interested in politics.

 
ulfpohl
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 11/2008
ulfpohl  
 
 
 
Posted On Nov 26, 2008
Really funny,stoic,I got the message!

 
ulfpohl
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 11/2008
ulfpohl  
 
 
 
Posted On May 20, 2009

How about my very own Philippines? Quackery never dies in the age of man. Why? Because of the presence of the invisible. Hallucination of many men promotes quakery and many also are beguiled although some companies state "No therapeutic claims approved" or such the like.


 
darholu
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 5/2009
darholu  
 
 
 
 
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