Lies and Thighs.....

September 4, 2009

Lies and Thighs .........

First the Lies !!!!!

Pfizer pharmaceuticals pleads guilty to a felony for fraudulent marketing of some prescription medications and will pay record fines amounting to over two billion dollars.

You can read the Department of Justice (DOJ) documents describing the settlement here .

Here are some quotes from our federal government gloating over this news:

First, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services was quoted as saying:

"This historic settlement will return nearly $1 billion to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government insurance programs, securing their future for the Americans who depend on these programs. The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to seek opportunities to work with its government partners to prosecute fraud wherever we can find it. But we will also look for new ways to prevent fraud before it happens. Health care is too important to let a single dollar go to waste."

Next we have Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is quoted as saying:

"This resolution protects the FDA in its vital mission of ensuring that drugs are safe and effective. When manufacturers undermine the FDA’s rules, they interfere with a doctor’s judgment and can put patient health at risk. The public trusts companies to market their drugs for uses that FDA has approved, and trusts that doctors are using independent judgment. Federal health dollars should only be spent on treatment decisions untainted by misinformation from manufacturers concerned with the bottom line."

Now I have also complained about some of the practices of Big Pharma.

Some of my past newsletters on this subject can be found below:

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/2008/10/state-sues-merck-for-deceptive.html

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/2008/10/experts-conclude-pfizer-manipulated.html

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/2008/09/top-selling-prescription-drug.html

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/2008/09/pharmaceutical-advertising-good-or-bad.html

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/2008/04/ghostwriters-for-medical-research.html

So I correctly predicted last year that the government would be going after Big money from Big Pharma.

If you think I am skeptical that this will help individuals, then it proves that great minds think alike.


But Why????

Here are questions I would like answered.

Will other pharmaceutical companies change their ways as a result of this judgement?
What will happen to the 2 billion dollars the government receives?
Will the money go where it is intended, back to Medicare and Medicaid???
Are other pharmaceutical companies being investigated as part of a shakedown, and being forced to strike a deal with the federal government to help pass healthcare reform legislation?
Are the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) guidelines too difficult and bureaucratic to allow new medications to be brought to market?
Is the FDA itself corrupt?

The timing of this announcement, as the White House likes to say, seems "a little fishy" to me. While Pfizer did break the law, and deserves to be dealt with, I am not so sure there are not other motives.

My solution would be to end third party payment systems that use "other people's money". These systems invite fraud and abuse. Just look at our ever growing federal debt as an example. It is time to bring power away from Big Govt, away from Big Business and Big Corporations, away from Wall Street, and give it back to the individual. Individuals are better at sniffing out fraud, as it is their own money on the line, not "other people's money"! The real problem is how prescriptions are paid. As long as there are third party middlemen with all their rules and regulations, then fraud will occur. The government can better help individuals in need by setting up a "medical food stamps" program, that puts money to be used specifically for healthcare into a bank account for the individual. This would streamline healthcare transactions, and get rid of the third party bureaucracy that invites fraud. If it works well for food, why not healthcare?

But enough about Big Pharma, Big Government and conspiracy theories..........

Bring on the Thighs !!!!!

If you receive this email on your "blackberry", for the best visual effects, please also view on your computer email.

Take a look at the two pictures below. Who has the better chance of living longer?

Or

To help determine the answer, I will refer you to the following article, Thin thighs - maybe not your heart's desire

This article comments on a study which showed that individuals with bigger thighs lived longer than those with smaller thighs. Now the pictures above may be a bit of a stretch when comparing thin thighs to, shall I say, thick thighs, but my take on this study goes back to not how much weight you carry, but where you carry it.

Many of you have heard the distinction between having an apple or pear shaped body. The difference can be seen in the pictures below.

This first side angle picture shows the apple shaped man on the left, with all of his excess weight stored in his abdomen and trunk. Note that his thighs are very thin compared to the rest of his body. The person to the right in the first picture has a pear shaped body, with excess weight more evenly distributed throughout their body.

This middle picture I included just because I liked the picture !!

The third picture shows a frontal view of an apple and pear shaped body.

While many would argue that the thin thighed women is more attractive and healthier, that may not be the case. If you want to read further about this study, it can be found here. Pear shaped bodies tend to live longer as they distribute their fat away from the major vital internal organs, such as the liver and heart.

Pearl from this article: Having a supermodels figure is not always healthy. A healthy weight can not be determined just by getting on a scale. There are many factors that come into play. Here is a previous newsletter about a healthy weight.

So before you say you are unhealthy and put yourself on a diet to "improve your health", look to The Institute For Medical Wellness to make sure you are on the right track. Our goal has always been to give you individualized, non-biased health guidance, regardless of what the so-called experts or majority say.

When we are working with you, only two votes count, ours and yours!!

Best Wishes to All for a happy, healthy and safe Labor Day weekend!!

To Good Health!!!

Steven Horvitz, D.O.
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness
128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone 856-231-0590
Fax 856-294-0311
http://www.drhorvitz.com/

Also please check out our new Wellness Plans offering more holistic and heart healthy options.

I would like to thank everyone for sending me topics for future newsletters. While I am not able to accommodate all the requests, I will continue to try. So keep em coming!!