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I am writing with my concerns about the future of our health care in this country. I have been dealing with chronic health issues for the last few years and have much experience with doctors and insurance. I closely follow developments in the treatment of my disease.
First, I must say President Obama was completely wrong about doctors performing unnecessary operations (tonsillectomies). In my case, I had to have my thyroid removed for my Grave's Disease.
I consulted my endocrinologist, my ENT doctor and many websites to determine the best option. The options are ablation with radioactive I-131, or surgery. All over the web, patients lean toward surgery as the most effective. But, my doctors all wanted me to do the ablation therapy. My ENT who would have done the surgery was the most insistent in the radiation treatment. I-131 treatment is a simple process of swallowing a pill and allowing the radiation to destroy the thyroid. It is very cost effective, simple and effective.
Second, I receive a newsletter about thyroid disease. Last spring, the newsletter informed us that treatment options for hypothyroidism has been changed dramatically under the National Health Service (NHS) in England. A November 2008 decree by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has basically doomed thyroid patients to disability, depression and higher medical expenses. The RCP sets the standards for the British health care system. They determined that a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism requires a TSH over 10. In the U.S., doctors consider you hypothyroid with levels over 5. They also concluded that only one medication was acceptable to treat hypothyroidism — synthetic T4. In the US, doctors prescribe a range of medication including synthetic T4, natural desiccated pig thyroid and synthetic T3. The Royal College of Physicians provides the guidelines for treatment under the NHS. Basically, they operate much as the committees outlined in the recent health care legislation.
I'm sure many in the UK were told that the NHS would improve quality of care and reduce costs. Yet the actions by the RCP do just the opposite. By reducing the available treatment options to just one, they mandated the more expensive, less effective synthetic T4. By requiring people to have a TSH over 10 to be treated for hypothyroidism, they've ensured that patients will be depressed, overweight and unproductive. This will naturally lead to the prescribing of more anti-depressants. And, I'm sure more people will end up on their form of welfare as they lose their ability to hold a job. And, more expensive weight loss surgeries will be required as these people become obese from low metabolism. As I see it, this looks as if the big pharmaceuticals have control over the RCP and have assured healthy finances for their companies for years to come.
Now we're hearing rumors that physicians in the UK are being persecuted for disobeying the RCP's decree. They are being threatened with losing their licenses and even prosecution for not following the “guidelines.” They cannot even prescribe natural, desiccated thyroid hormone when the patient wants to pay for it themselves! It seems to me that the nature of the proposed health care legislation will subject our doctors to the same level of scrutiny over their interactions with their patients.
Thyroid patients have been struggling for years to have treatment options for hypothyroidism. We've had to fight doctors who will only treat based on blood test results and ignore our symptoms. We've had to fight the drug companies who have lied to doctors about the availability and efficacy of natural, desiccated thyroid. And, ultimately, we've endured the three to five years of telling our doctors we don't feel well while they prescribe a endless stream of expensive drugs like anti-depressants and sleeping pills and even more expensive tests to treat our “complaints.” Yet, through all that, we knew we had options and could eventually find a caring, compassionate doctor who would listen!
Based on my personal experience and that of the patients in the UK, I am beginning to lose any hope for a normal future under a government-run health care system. Effectively what the committee-heavy system being proposed will do is just concentrate the corruption and influence that drug companies have over our health care system. Instead of having to influence every doctor in the country to sell their drugs, they just have to influence committees of “experts.”
If you or a family member has thyroid disease, please make sure you get informed. Here are some of the websites I follow to keep on top of the latest developments: www.thyroid.about.com, www.intlhormonesociety.org, and www.tpa-uk.org.uk. Once you look at what is happening to thyroid patients in nationalized health care systems around the world, I hope you will agree that the systems being proposed in the U.S. will certainly lead to disastrous consequences for thyroid patients.
Lisa Knobel lives in Silverthorne and is a vice-chair of the Summit County Republicans.
First, I must say President Obama was completely wrong about doctors performing unnecessary operations (tonsillectomies). In my case, I had to have my thyroid removed for my Grave's Disease.
I consulted my endocrinologist, my ENT doctor and many websites to determine the best option. The options are ablation with radioactive I-131, or surgery. All over the web, patients lean toward surgery as the most effective. But, my doctors all wanted me to do the ablation therapy. My ENT who would have done the surgery was the most insistent in the radiation treatment. I-131 treatment is a simple process of swallowing a pill and allowing the radiation to destroy the thyroid. It is very cost effective, simple and effective.
Second, I receive a newsletter about thyroid disease. Last spring, the newsletter informed us that treatment options for hypothyroidism has been changed dramatically under the National Health Service (NHS) in England. A November 2008 decree by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has basically doomed thyroid patients to disability, depression and higher medical expenses. The RCP sets the standards for the British health care system. They determined that a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism requires a TSH over 10. In the U.S., doctors consider you hypothyroid with levels over 5. They also concluded that only one medication was acceptable to treat hypothyroidism — synthetic T4. In the US, doctors prescribe a range of medication including synthetic T4, natural desiccated pig thyroid and synthetic T3. The Royal College of Physicians provides the guidelines for treatment under the NHS. Basically, they operate much as the committees outlined in the recent health care legislation.
I'm sure many in the UK were told that the NHS would improve quality of care and reduce costs. Yet the actions by the RCP do just the opposite. By reducing the available treatment options to just one, they mandated the more expensive, less effective synthetic T4. By requiring people to have a TSH over 10 to be treated for hypothyroidism, they've ensured that patients will be depressed, overweight and unproductive. This will naturally lead to the prescribing of more anti-depressants. And, I'm sure more people will end up on their form of welfare as they lose their ability to hold a job. And, more expensive weight loss surgeries will be required as these people become obese from low metabolism. As I see it, this looks as if the big pharmaceuticals have control over the RCP and have assured healthy finances for their companies for years to come.
Now we're hearing rumors that physicians in the UK are being persecuted for disobeying the RCP's decree. They are being threatened with losing their licenses and even prosecution for not following the “guidelines.” They cannot even prescribe natural, desiccated thyroid hormone when the patient wants to pay for it themselves! It seems to me that the nature of the proposed health care legislation will subject our doctors to the same level of scrutiny over their interactions with their patients.
Thyroid patients have been struggling for years to have treatment options for hypothyroidism. We've had to fight doctors who will only treat based on blood test results and ignore our symptoms. We've had to fight the drug companies who have lied to doctors about the availability and efficacy of natural, desiccated thyroid. And, ultimately, we've endured the three to five years of telling our doctors we don't feel well while they prescribe a endless stream of expensive drugs like anti-depressants and sleeping pills and even more expensive tests to treat our “complaints.” Yet, through all that, we knew we had options and could eventually find a caring, compassionate doctor who would listen!
Based on my personal experience and that of the patients in the UK, I am beginning to lose any hope for a normal future under a government-run health care system. Effectively what the committee-heavy system being proposed will do is just concentrate the corruption and influence that drug companies have over our health care system. Instead of having to influence every doctor in the country to sell their drugs, they just have to influence committees of “experts.”
If you or a family member has thyroid disease, please make sure you get informed. Here are some of the websites I follow to keep on top of the latest developments: www.thyroid.about.com, www.intlhormonesociety.org, and www.tpa-uk.org.uk. Once you look at what is happening to thyroid patients in nationalized health care systems around the world, I hope you will agree that the systems being proposed in the U.S. will certainly lead to disastrous consequences for thyroid patients.
Lisa Knobel lives in Silverthorne and is a vice-chair of the Summit County Republicans.
