There is a new “experiment” going on in Philadelphia-getting paid by the government to take your medication. Here’s how it works, according to an NY Times article, “people prescribed warfarin, an anti-blood-clot medication, can win $10 or $100 each day they take the drug — a kind of lottery using a computerized pillbox to record if they took the medicine and whether they won that day.” The concept is that patient noncompliance to medication leads to unnecessary hospitalization at a cost of over $100 billion annually. We, as a society, should use any means necessary to avoid this, right? I disagree.
My concern is this: how much can we abdicate our responsibility as human beings to take care of ourselves? Do you really need to be paid everyday to take a medication that prevents you from dropping dead within minutes due to a heart attack, stroke or any other malady one can think of? I can recall when my son took Singulair to prevent the terrible asthma attacks he would get, often sending him to the hospital. To me, there was nothing more important than making sure that child had that medicine that kept him healthy! I created a routine to assure myself that I would never forget his daily dose.
That being said, there is a bigger issue, at least for me, in question here or the next layer, if you will: how has the government gotten so intimately involved in maintaining or treating our health and our bodies? In the words of the great Ronald Reagan, “Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” Yes, I know that paying people may prevent hospitalizations, spending a lot of money, etc…but involving the government in personal health compliance seems like a potentially slippery slope.
Another thought I have is, would these same people being paid to essentially take care of themselves be willing to get paid to take poison, that is, if the government offered it at a good payout? I mean, if it could turn a good profit and one doesn’t care about their health anyway, why not right??
What do you think??
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I feel that physicians must play a greater role in making sure their patients more aware of the risks of not taking their medication, Warfarin (an anticoagulant) in particular, at each follow up visit, and that they are taking their medications. After the initial “scare” when the patient must go on the medication alot of people forget the real reason they are taking the medication, and they become lax and may miss doses.
The idea of the government paying people to take their medicine makes me wonder what other areas the government might think appropriate to get involved in our lives. Are they going to pay people to eat the right food, to lose weight or a multitude of other things that affect our health? While I agree it is important to be sure everyone on medication has a clear understanding of the health risks associated with not taking it, I don’t believe the government has a right to interfere.
Unless there is a memory problem involved or the inability to afford their medicine, I’d be asking why is it that people don’t value themselves and their health enough to take their medication properly?
I also wonder why a person must be rewarded to take a drug that will help them. The fact is, however, people do not take care of themselves. Look at obesity, heart disease, and cancer in this country. Look at the amount of money put towards the cost of health care involved in supporting self inflicted ailments caused by abusive habits such as excessive smoking, drinking and eating. Is the tax payer to support the person once the disease has taken root, or should the government act while they are healthy to encourage habits that will prolong life and health. If the government is willing to take that stand, then why not give people $10 for every 10 miles they run. I wish a larger fund was used to help people stay healthy, opposed to providing the medical coverage needed to fight off disease. Payment for pills, though?… scary it has to come to that for some people.
Well, I agree with you. The problem I see is that we have become a lazy nation. Most people seem to want the goverment to take care of everything from our childrens education to our housing and so forth. It is so obvious to me that the goverment cant run any business efficently because they simple do not produce anything . Wake up America ! Take responsibility for yourselves and lets get the goverment out of our way.
I was talking with a friend about this just the other day. We wondered. Are we that lazy? What we need is LESS GOVERMENT and take more personal responsibility. I believe we need to take care of ourselves. For example I have inherited medical conditions by “Genetics” But I still take care of myself with diet, exercise and STAYING OUT OF MCDONALDS. I want to be healthy and no one has to pay me for that.