In a completely unsurprising development the bone enhancement drug, Fosamax, has been found to have a "fatal flaw" as soon as its patent expired. There is a consistency to this that should not be missed by anyone who is paying attention. While the drug was still covered by a patent (and able to provide a regular stream of high markup revenue for the manufacturer) all controversies regarding the medication were refuted by studies that revealed the prettier side of the problem. Now that there isn't any reason to defend the drug no one is going to spend the money to "put out the fires" that spring up when a negative study is published. Since Fosamax may cause fatal heart arrhythmias it's just best to switch to one of the drugs that's under patent so the cycle can repeat itself. Isn't it great having the FDA looking out for your best interest? Maybe we should let them run all of health care. Just kidding, maybe we should acknowledge that a government agency can't protect us as well as free speech and free flow of ideas from citizen to citizen. That's how our country was built and designed. Constitutional freedoms protect us better than the nanny government system ever could. That's why we need to fight for our rights before they're stripped away in the name of convenience or comfort.

A recent press release from the National Taxpayers Union sounded a clarion call to doctors and patients alike. "When it comes to the financial condition of Medicare, the caregiver
has as many ailments as the patients," NTU Vice President for Policy
and Communications Pete Sepp said. "Unless Congress takes decisive
steps, large and small, to control spending and empower consumers, the
nation's taxpayers will soon be suffering from huge burdens they cannot
carry." The upshot is empowerment of the consumer. Without returning much of the decision-making to the patient there will always be perverse incentives that drive the costs of healthcare through the roof. In our practice every visit starts with the simple question "What are we going to do today?" The question is not based on poor memory or confusion but an acknowledgement that the patient has got to be involved with their care to produce the best outcomes. Anything less leaves the one with the most to lose (the patient) out in the cold. Medicare is built on the premise that it's someone else's responsibility to pay the bulk of the bills for the choices of the program participants. That someone else is the taxpayer -you and me!