President Obama erred on red pills, blue pills and tonsilitis

After President Obama’s press conference Wednesday I thought a lot about what he said. I’d planned to do a column, but frankly after I reviewed my notes, I didn’t come up with anything new. I didn’t learn details of any of the proposed plans, and nor did the president address the constituencies in the US that make up the alleged 45 million uninsured. But a few things caught my eye as I reviewed my notes.

The red pill/blue pill analogy gave me pause. I’m assuming our president was implying the use of generic drugs when possible. It’s not true the cheaper pill is always the best. Generic drugs have inert ingredients that may differ from the brand drug. Only your doctor can tell you whether that cheap pill is right for you. Adverse reactions to inert ingredients are not all that common as far as we know. But I’m not even sure a person would realize this if a reaction occurred. There are differences in those inert ingredients and the decision about the drug can only be made by the physician. That’s one reason I always suggest you talk to your pharmacist about any new medication or unusual effects from any drug. The FDA provides a search page where you can look up inactive ingredients.

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Politicians, president and media aren’t talking about who can’t get health insurance

FBI director Robert Mueller announced a crackdown on healthcare fraud indictments against 53 people in a combined enforcement effort specifically targeting fraud schemes that threaten Medicare.Politicians and media pundits repeatedly claim 45 million “Americans” can’t get health insurance, prompting me to research the makeup of that constituency. I settled on data from the Employment Policies Institute in part because the organization had just released a study containing specifics about the types of individuals who don’t have insurance. I did compare figures to information at the National Coalition on Healthcare, a group claiming to be “rigorously nonpartisan.” Members include the AFL-CIO, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, healthcare organizations and teachers’ unions.

A reader pointed out EPI is a lobby group. Who isn’t these days? In my opinion, the NCH has a lobbyist-like approach. Yet the figures from both organizations are comparable. However the EPI provided more descriptive specifics as detailed in my earlier column.

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Meet some of the 45 million without health insurance

Updated on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 9:33AM by Kay B. Day, Editor

If I hear one more politician ply Americans with horror stories about the 45 million uninsured in the US, I am going to eat the nearest nail. Figuratively speaking. It has not occurred to a single major media outlet to ask a simple question. Who are the 45 million uninsured in this country?

Why is that question important? Because the Democrats in Washington want us to subsidize the tab for shifting healthcare to the federal budget. We will do that via taxes and increased costs for our own private insurance.

Democrats accuse Republicans of stonewalling health insurance, with President Barack Obama commenting on a political remark by a Republican. The Associated Press story said: “Without mentioning his critic by name, the president recounted South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint's comment that stopping Obama's bid for health care overhaul could be the president's Waterloo, a reference to the site of Napoleon's bitter defeat.” DeMint is doing Obama a favor, because when US taxpayers figure out the misleading statistics being widely pushed by the administration and Dem-friendly media, tea parties may ensue. And those tea parties may play a role in future elections. Americans do not enjoy being hoodwinked.

One study sheds light on specifics about the uninsured. The study was published by the Employment Policies Institute in June, 2009, using data collected by the US Census Bureau in 2006. It’s a must read and it should be required reading for every member of Congress.

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