What have been the outcomes in every single country where health care has been nationalized? Higher costs, lower quality care, drug and doctor shortages, long waits, and no privacy have all been the natural outcomes. Predictably, these problems have now begun to appear in the US. You already know that the costs of your premiums have skyrocketed, but what you may not have realized is that hospitals all across the nation are experiencing critical drug shortages. What may shock you more is that the drugs in short supply are some of the most widely used and critically needed to treat patients.
At any given time there is always going to be some drug out of the millions produced that is experiencing some time of shortage issue, but when the shortages begin affecting critical drugs used every day by millions we need to take note. Most recently, saline has been in extremely short supply. In fact the shortage is now so bad the US has to import saline from Russia. For those that don’t know what saline it, it is sodium chloride (salt water) PH balanced to provide hydration for the body. You will probably recognize it as they typical “IV” bag. Further, it is critical for the intravenous administration of a huge variety of drugs to include anesthesia. Without saline patients will die. As one of the most commonly used items in hospitals, its shortage should be sounding alarm bells. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm382255.htm
Saline is not the only common drug in short supply. Tylenol with Codeine is also critically short. This drug is used as a very effective narcotic painkiller that although not irreplaceable with other drugs, certainly shouldn’t be undergoing a critical shortage. Nonetheless, hospitals are being told by manufacturers that they have no idea when they will be able to source the commonly used drug. http://www.ashp.org/menu/DrugShortages/CurrentShortages/Bulletin.aspx?id=1152 Ironically, illegal opiates have never been in greater supply on the streets.
Two other important drugs in short supply you may not be aware of are Atropine Sulfate and Leuprolide Acetate. Atropine is used for things as basic as dilating a patient’s pupils for an eye exam and Leuprolide Acetate is used extensively in oncology to treat prostate and other cancers in advanced stages. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/dsp_ActiveIngredientDetails.cfm?AI=Atropine%20Sulfate%20Injection&st=c
Is the US system of healthcare about to collapse? No. However, anyone paying attention should see the writing on the wall. At first we will have the few critical drug shortages as we are seeing now. Then there will be more and it will be wider spread. The government will “intervene” to “fix” it even though it was the government’s interference that caused the problems in the first place. Of course this won’t work and only make the problems worse. As the government’s “fixes” such as mandated production go into effect, it will soon be common not to have critically needed drugs. The government will intervene again, because of course; it is “only the government” that can save the system it destroyed. Pharmaceutical companies will then either go out of business or no longer sell in the US. Thereafter, you will have to find your medications on the black market if you are to find them at all and the government will of course blame greedy businesses. This progression is easily predictable. The idea of socialized healthcare has been tried all over the world and it just doesn’t work. The conditions socialized healthcare imposes on the market simply make it impossible for manufacturers to continue production and one by one they will stop producing.
You still have time to medically prepare for this future certainty. Take the time and effort to study homeopathic treatments and stock up on critical medications you require or might require. Further, attempt to build a network of individuals working within the pharmaceutical industry that may be able to help you acquire certain critical medications when the shortages become widespread. Beyond these preps, your only other solution will be to have a passport and the ability to travel overseas for treatment. In the interim, I would advise everyone reading this to spread the word that the drug shortages have begun and push our corrupt Congress to repeal our socialized healthcare system in its entirety.
By Guiles Hendrik
May 22, 2015
