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Editorial: Who Owns the United States?
It's interesting that foreign companies and individuals can purchase land and businesses in the U.S., but many other countries don't allow such transactions. Why, then, do we allow it?
Think about the potential problems as we send more and more of our dollars out of the country. Some U.S. companies establish subsidiaries in other countries and manufacture products that are then brought in to the U.S. for sale. Some companies don't establish subsidiaries; they just contract for production or purchase products made in other countries. The net result of these scenarios is that U.S. dollars are leaving the U.S. and millions of U.S. workers suffer as the jobs are no longer available here.
Consider also that many of the companies here in the U.S. are owned/operated by non-U.S. entities, whose profits are also leaving the U.S. because they are sent "home" to their own countries.
The money that is sent out of the U.S. to other countries can be used to purchase U.S. land, businesses, etc. This includes money that is sent out by U.S. companies that purchase gas, oil, pharmaceuticals, and other commodities from other countries, as well as non-U.S. entities sending their profits to their own countries. The purchase of U.S. land, businesses, etc. becomes easier with all the mergers, etc. that occur regularly, resulting in fewer individuals to deal with in major acquisitions. (Mergers tend to benefit upper-executive management personnel only so they don't mind selling the U.S. out!) What are the consequences? We may end up living in a nation owned by foreign investors. This is extremely dangerous for the U.S., as the foreign investors that own a significant part of the U.S. will have a significant say in the future of this country.
Think about it!!!
Loyd V. Allen, Jr., PhD, RPh
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Sen. Brown Calls for FDA Evaluation of U.S. Pharmaceutical Company Outsourcing and Impact on Drug Safety
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has called on the FDA to evaluate how it safeguards the American public from drug products containing tainted, outsourced ingredients. In recent testimony to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), an FDA official acknowledged that American drug companies outsource operations to take advantage of weak drug safety standards abroad. At the same hearing, a representative from Pfizer confirmed that 17 percent of the company's active ingredients and drug manufacturing is outsourced.
"It is no coincidence that drug ingredients produced in countries with weak safety standards are often contaminated," said Senator Brown. "The FDA must immediately review pharmaceutical outsourcing and make necessary changes to keep American consumers safe."
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=549608&categoryid=9&newsletter=1
Up to 17 Infants Receive Too Much Heparin
Misreading the heparin labels results in 10,000 u/mL instead of 10 u/mL being used for keeping IV lines clear in infants. The error was not caught until about two days after the event. At least two infants died as a result.
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5880328.html
Pharmacy Receives Warning Letter from FDA
A pharmacy making five topical-transdermal products containing at least three drugs each and allegedly publishing claims about these preparations through their labeling has received a warning letter from the FDA. The preparations all had specific "names" designating the preparations for presumably for promotional purposes.
www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6836c.pdf
Medicare Fraud Using Names of Deceased Physicians
Nearly $100 million has been paid to medical suppliers for wheelchairs, prescription medicines and other home equipment submitted under the names of deceased physicians. CMS officials say they will soon get the Social Security Administration's Death Master File to aid in processing claims.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802340.html?hpid=topnews
Accelerated Recovery After Local Anesthesia
A recent study in Anesthesia Progress has shown that phentolamine can reverse the effects of lidocaine 30% to 55% faster than your body can metabolize it naturally, and there are no attributable side effects. Phentolamine mesylate, which has been available in the U.S. since the 1950s, may help recovery faster by counteracting the effect of epinephrine, which delays the body's absorption of lidocaine. With this delay removed, the body can absorb and break down the lidocaine faster. Recovery occurs approximately twice as fast with the use of phentolamine than without, and it works to return sensation to both lips/cheeks and tongue. There were no serious adverse events reported and no subjects discontinued the study due to adverse events.
www.allenpress.com/pdf/anpr-55-02-40-48.pdf
Surgery Deaths
The FDA has received reports of 72 deaths and 4,675 injuries linked to "unretrieved device fragments" since 2003, according to the agency's adverse-event database.
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25120613/
California Hospitals Report More Than 1,000 Serious Medical Errors Over a Ten-Month Period
The Los Angeles Times (6/30, Rau) reports that "1,002 cases of serious medical harm" have been "disclosed by California hospitals between July 2007 and May of this year. The disclosures are the first under a state law that requires hospitals to reveal to health regulators all substantial injuries to their patients." The Times noted that, "[u]nder the 2006 disclosure law, hospitals must inform state regulators of every occurrence of 28 different types of dangerous mistakes," which "include deaths during labor, medication errors, suicide attempts, and sexual assault."
www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hospitals30-2008jun30,1,243825.story
New Jersey Legislature Passes Bill Expanding Insurance Program for Low-income Families
The Philadelphia Inquirer (6/27, Lu) reported, "New Jersey took an important step this week toward becoming one of the first states with universal healthcare when lawmakers approved a bill expanding a health insurance program for low-income families." The state's budget received cutbacks "in many areas," lawmakers "included $8.9 million in a bill that would require all children in the state to have health insurance and expand FamilyCare, the state health insurance program, to include more poor parents." But, the vote only involved the initial phase of the full healthcare proposal -- this phase "is expected to be the least expensive," at about $29 million, "and the least controversial."
www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20080627_N_J__moves_closer_to_universal_health_care.html
Massachusetts Healthcare Program Decreased Number of Uninsured, but with High Costs
USA Today (6/30, Appleby) reports that although the Massachusetts healthcare program requiring most "residents to carry health coverage" helped reduce "the percentage of uninsured adults...by nearly half, from 13 percent to 7 percent," it "still faces a huge challenge -- costs." Under the program, "[m]ost of the newly insured are lower income residents who qualify for low- or no-cost coverage through the state, and there were more uninsured than the state anticipated," escalating costs to "$625 million the first year,(ital added) up from estimates of $472 million." In addition, "[m]onthly premiums for those who qualify for the partially subsidized program went up an average of 9.4 percent going into the second year of the program, state figures show." Premiums increased by an average of 5.1 percent for "residents who buy coverage without" state assistance. But, the program has helped many previously uninsured residents get needed care. Cambridge Health Alliance, which operates 21 health centers in the state, "says their clinics have seen a 16 percent increase in visits since the expanded program helped many patients get insurance."
www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-06-29-massreform_N.htm
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