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To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (25374)	3/10/2005 9:29:22 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

The overall high cost can be traced back to two primary causes. 1.) Private insurance adds roughly 45% to the cost for processing claims and overhead. 2.) America is virtually the only nation which does not negotiate substantial discounts for pharmaceuticals, due to the great sums these companies spend on lobbying and political donations. Few democratic nations allow this degree of corruption in their government. On an individual basis, the costs paid by each person bear little relationship to their costs, with one person subsidizing another. Another great disparity in price compared to costs are labs. Take an example of a pre-surgical lab of $305.37 where Blue Cross allocates a $269.59 discount. I'm sure the 37.78 payment covers their costs. .

To: Crimson Ghost who wrote (25374)	3/10/2005 9:47:45 PM
From: shades	Respond to of 116555

From this program on C-span the other night, Peter G. Peterson said the problem is we spend so much on people's last few months of life and do not improve the quality of those last few months. He said american doctors need to do like doctors in other parts of the world and send the old people home to die of the flu or something else rather than leaving on those expesnive machines for a couple of months before death. Greenspan was at this meeting taking a lot of blows. Running on Empty Institute for International Economics Washington, District of Columbia (United States) ID: 183041 - 08/09/2004 - 1:41 - $29.95 Bergsten, C. Fred, Director, Institute for International Economics Rubin, Robert E., Secretary (1995-99), Department of the Treasury Peterson, Peter G., Chairman, Blackstone Group Mr. Peterson talked about his book Running On Empty: How The Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Mr. Peterson argued that America is headed towards an economic meltdown because of the large deficit the country runs every year. He asserted that big tax cuts and heavy spending have contributed to the massive debt the country currently has and warned that if measures are not taken soon the economy will suffer dramatically. Following Mr. Peterson's remarks he joined Robert Rubin and C. Fred Bergsten in a panel discussion. Audience questions were also answered.