More rationing...and guess who will suffer? Infants and old people.

[AllieBaba]

"O'Neal is concerned about the availability of electrolytes. They are critical to a babies in neonatal intensive care and seriously ill adults.

"Electrolytes are administered to a critically ill patient for nutritional support intravenously. They are given to patients who cannot get their nutrition any other way.

O'Neal said he's concerned that as supplies shrink, measures will have to be taken.

"We are dangerously close, we believe, when we will have to ration care to the critically ill. I would say within days or weeks," said O'Neal."

Drugs For Critically Ill In Short Supply - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville

 

[RDD_1210]

And what is the cause of this rationing?

 

[Publius1787]

"O'Neal is concerned about the availability of electrolytes. They are critical to a babies in neonatal intensive care and seriously ill adults.

"Electrolytes are administered to a critically ill patient for nutritional support intravenously. They are given to patients who cannot get their nutrition any other way.

O'Neal said he's concerned that as supplies shrink, measures will have to be taken.

"We are dangerously close, we believe, when we will have to ration care to the critically ill. I would say within days or weeks," said O'Neal."

Drugs For Critically Ill In Short Supply - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville

Everyone suffers to include other countries when America moves closer toward government run healthcare.

 

[hellofromwarsaw]

It's not government run health care, it's government REGULATED health care, and just in time to save the economy and 45k peoples' lives a year, and will save money. The only difference will be ERs for emergencies, and family doctors and low cost clinics for preventive medicine for non emergencies, and a a happier country. Don't believe bought off Pub fear mongering fcs...

 

[sparky]

A.S.P.E.N. PN Electrolyte Shortage Update

Big Pharma claiming basic elements such as sodium, calcium or potassium are in short supply is akin to the Oilocracy's tactics.....

 

[Samson]

And what is the cause of this rationing?

From the link in the OP:

There are so few makers of electrolytes that when one drug company, American Regent, stopped production because of quality issues, it sent supplies in a tail spin nationwide

Sounds like we need more manufacturers of electrolytes.

The real question is: What are the market entry barriers?

 

[editec]

Drugs For Critically Ill In Short Supply - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville

The invisible garotte of the market.

 

[Samson]

Drugs For Critically Ill In Short Supply - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville

The invisible garotte of the market.

You think the government should get into the electrolyte manufacturing business?

Why? Because they've done such a great job with Amtrak?

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Sounds like someone put in price controls on something. Since the chemicals involved are some of the most pervasive on earth, it is not a shortage of supply of the basic ingredients.

But making sterile bags of the stuff does have a cost. And somewhere some government official, with the very best intentions, probably with a masters in some basket weaving social science, determined that no one would be allowed to sell them for more than an unprofitable price, and now we have a shortage of something.

Whenever you have a shortage of anything, somewhere there is a price control on it.

 

[Samson]

Sounds like someone put in price controls on something. Since the chemicals involved are some of the most pervasive on earth, it is not a shortage of supply of the basic ingredients.

But making sterile bags of the stuff does have a cost. And somewhere some government official, with the very best intentions, probably with a masters in some basket weaving social science, determined that no one would be allowed to sell them for more than an unprofitable price, and now we have a shortage of something.

Whenever you have a shortage of anything, somewhere there is a price control on it.

Exactly what I thought, but couldn't express it better.

 

[percysunshine]

Somewhere, a lawyer is not getting his cut.

 

[hellofromwarsaw]

"You think the government should get into the electrolyte manufacturing business?

Why? Because they've done such a great job with Amtrak? "

Typical- Pubs starve a program, then complain about the result...PFFFFFT!!

 

[Mad Scientist]

Typical- Pubs starve a program, then complain about the result...PFFFFFT!!

No wonder you're in the red. AMTRAK has been a money loser through both Republican and Democrat administrations. Plus, you're lying about anyone starving AMTRAK:
Amtrak and the 2011 Budget Cuts, Page 2 of 3 - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

In 1981 and 1994, Congress requested Amtrak to cut back on its use of federal subsidies and to move towards becoming self-sufficient. Neither request could be met; in fact, by 1997 Amtrak was near bankruptcy in spite of the federal funds it was receiving. In 2004, the corporation was approved for $2 million a year for up to 6 years, in order to keep it solvent (AHS). This appropriation ran out in 2010, but was replaced by $1.3 billion from the Stimulus Act (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The money was to be distributed over a 2 year period from 2009 to 2011 (Recovery.gov).

 

[boedicca]

This is hardly surprising, and just the beginning.

Remember, Berwick thinks we should model the U.S. system upon the NHS:

NHS budget squeeze to blame for longer waiting times, say doctors

Latest performance data reveal number of English patients waiting more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in last year

Doctors are blaming financial pressures on the NHS for an increase in the number of patients who are not being treated within the 18 weeks that the government recommends.

New NHS performance data reveal that the number of people in England who are being forced to wait more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in the last year, while the number who had to wait longer than six months has shot up by 43%.

In March this year, 34,639 people, or 11% of the total, waited more than that time to receive inpatient treatment, compared with 27,534, or 8.3%, in March 2010 – an increase of 26% – Department of Health statistics show.

Similarly, in March this year some 11,243 patients who underwent treatment had waited for more than six months, compared with 7,841 in the same month in 2010 – a 43% rise.

Despite rising demand for healthcare caused by the increasingly elderly population and growing numbers of people with long-term conditions, the NHS treated 16,201 fewer people as inpatients in March 2011 compared to March 2010, the latest Referral To Treatment data disclose.

The British Medical Association said the longer waits and fewer treatments were inevitable: "Given the massive financial pressures on the NHS, it was always likely that hospital activity would decrease and waiting times would increase," said a spokesperson....

NHS budget squeeze to blame for longer waiting times, say doctors | Society | The Guardian

 

[Old Rocks]

Is there a shortage in Europe? If not, why not? I think that Editec is correct aqain. Another way to get us all to pay $5 for a nickels worth of a common element.

And I do love that assholes here that with zero information are already laying this at the governments doorstep. Get real. Unlike all the other industrial nations, our health care is severly rationed. About 50 million Americans have no healthcare except for the emergency room. And, god forbid should they have to use the emergency room, they will get charged $100 for a dollars worth of medicine.

Our present Health Care System costs more than any other in the world per capita, delivers substandard results in all categories, and does not cover all of our citizens. But you wingnuts are just perfectly happy with that.

 

[Old Rocks]

This is hardly surprising, and just the beginning.

Remember, Berwick thinks we should model the U.S. system upon the NHS:

NHS budget squeeze to blame for longer waiting times, say doctors

Latest performance data reveal number of English patients waiting more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in last year

Doctors are blaming financial pressures on the NHS for an increase in the number of patients who are not being treated within the 18 weeks that the government recommends.

New NHS performance data reveal that the number of people in England who are being forced to wait more than 18 weeks has risen by 26% in the last year, while the number who had to wait longer than six months has shot up by 43%.

In March this year, 34,639 people, or 11% of the total, waited more than that time to receive inpatient treatment, compared with 27,534, or 8.3%, in March 2010 – an increase of 26% – Department of Health statistics show.

Similarly, in March this year some 11,243 patients who underwent treatment had waited for more than six months, compared with 7,841 in the same month in 2010 – a 43% rise.

Despite rising demand for healthcare caused by the increasingly elderly population and growing numbers of people with long-term conditions, the NHS treated 16,201 fewer people as inpatients in March 2011 compared to March 2010, the latest Referral To Treatment data disclose.

The British Medical Association said the longer waits and fewer treatments were inevitable: "Given the massive financial pressures on the NHS, it was always likely that hospital activity would decrease and waiting times would increase," said a spokesperson....

NHS budget squeeze to blame for longer waiting times, say doctors | Society | The Guardian

My, my, I did not realize Nashville was in England.

 

[uscitizen]

It is apparently all Amtracks fault?

sheesh.

Quality issues? So the only manufacturer was truning out a crappy product?

Like with so many things now thru consolidation and mergers, etc we put all our eggs in one basket.
This is a corporate failing not a government one.

 

[California Girl]

That's fine... according to Dr Zeke.... children under than age of two are not fully functioning human beings and therefore should be lower on the priority list. And old people have had their time... in fact, Dr Zeke is the one who thinks old people should 'die quickly'.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

If it were just a matter of giving them a substance, they could just give them a bottle of Gatoraid. Same stuff, a bit cheaper. First there are (sensible) regulations that require the stuff be sterile and packed in a certain way. These regulations make something very very very very cheap into an expensive product. then you regulate the price of the product less than the cost of production.

Again, Gatoraid costs 1.25 per bottle, not because of what is in it, maybe 7 cents worth of sugar and salts and tap water. The bottle costs a bunch, shipping costs a bunch, dealing with various government agencies (not whining about this. We all agree that there has to be safety compliance, but safety compliance is not free. It gets tossed in with the costs)

Also Tennessee has Tenncare. A government agency that has to contain costs. If Tenncare won't pay the cost of the product, there is no product for Tenncare.

 

[uscitizen]

If it were just a matter of giving them a substance, they could just give them a bottle of Gatoraid. Same stuff, a bit cheaper. First there are (sensible) regulations that require the stuff be sterile and packed in a certain way. These regulations make something very very very very cheap into an expensive product. then you regulate the price of the product less than the cost of production.

Again, Gatoraid costs 1.25 per bottle, not because of what is in it, maybe 7 cents worth of sugar and salts and tap water. The bottle costs a bunch, shipping costs a bunch, dealing with various government agencies (not whining about this. We all agree that there has to be safety compliance, but safety compliance is not free. It gets tossed in with the costs)

Also Tennessee has Tenncare. A government agency that has to contain costs. If Tenncare won't pay the cost of the product, there is no product for Tenncare.

I thought this was a nationwide shortgage not just Tenessee?
Republicans containing socts do have repercussions though. There are no simple answers.