Prescription Drug Costs and Safety: Part One

Did you ever wonder whether the prescription drugs you pay so much for are really bargains and even more importantly, whether they’re safe? Many of us share this concern, especially since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is supposed to be the regulator which assures that drugs are both safe and effective.

Jonathan W. Emord , Dr. Charles Simone of the Simone Protected Cancer Center and author of Cancer and Nutrition is joined by , author of The Rise of Tyranny. In part one of a two part interview with Dennis C. McCuistion they discuss the effects of politics and bureaucracy on prescription drug costs and safety.

One would think that the FDA would be one of the least corrupt government agencies, as it’s dealing directly with the health and well-being of American citizens. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly well-known that what the FDA approves is often times based more on politics, bureaucracy and economics than health. The concern during recent years is that bureaucrats have been having an enormous amount of influence in what the FDA approves. In fact, the commissioner of the FDA has knowingly allowed unsafe drugs to enter the marketplace, in order to protect the proponents of those drugs so that they don’t suffer economic hardship.

Of the 19 industrialized countries, the United States is #1 in the amount of money we spend on health care and #19 in how much bang we get for our buck. The argument for the increased cost of prescription drugs is that it’s due to the FDA’s strict requirements on research. However, if you look at history you’ll find that members of the FDA have knowingly allowed harmful drugs to hit the market. Simone and Emord expound by giving several examples of times where the Commissioner of the FDA intentionally passed drugs that were undeniably confirmed to be dangerous. They went on to further site instances where the medical reviewers (with political managers above them) required well-respected scientists to rewrite their reports and threatened if they did not. Because of this type of treatment, scientists are required to spend more money to protect themselves, thus the cost of drugs increases.

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03.29.09 – 1725