In the past few years, you couldn’t turn on the television without seeing an advertisement for some new kind of drug. Erectile dysfunction, blood pressure, allergies, and restless leg syndrome (yes that is real) are all some of the drugs you may have seen splashed boldly in front of you on the screen. If you have been paying close attention, or just spend hours glued to the television, you may have noticed that drug ads have become less and less frequent throughout 2008. What’s causing this ad-less phenomenon, and is just due to the struggling economy?

Drugs Are Denied More Than Approved

Many drug companies are getting many of their fancy new drugs approved by the FDA and other regulatory bodies, so there’s no point in spending money advertising a drug that no doctor is going to buy and prescribe. If drugs are making it past the rigorous approval process, they are often drugs that target smaller population groups, like a cholesterol drug. There is no sense on spending millions on advertising on a drug that won’t be treating millions of people. According to figures from TNS Media Intelligence, U.S. drug ad spending dropped 6% in the first eight months of 2008, to $3.2 billion. That comes after a 3% dip in the full-year 2007, which had a total of $5.3 billion. Ad spending had generally been upward previously, peaking at $5.4 billion in 2006.

A Change in Media

You may not have realized this, but most of the ad spending done by drug companies is in the form of print ads. I don’t read magazines much anymore but when I did, I would see a ton of different drugs being advertised, varying heavily from magazine to magazine and their target audience. As with so many things, the trend now is headed toward the online world. People want their information in an instant, and web advertising can provide that. While you can easily flip through a magazine and read a drug’s information there, it is so much easier for a consumer to have an ad pop up on their screen, click on it and then read all the information they ever wanted to know about a particular drug. It makes complete sense to funnel money into online advertising (but then again, I encourage everyone to get online, whether it’s for fund raising, communication or shopping). Drug giant AstraZeneca told Dow Jones Newswires that some 20% of its consumer marketing budget was for digital advertising this year, up from around 15% in 2007. 1/5 of a company’s marketing budget going toward making sure online consumers get the drug message? It seems smart to me on the part of the drug companies.

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The term “Medicaid issues” is rather vague, and you can let your fingers do the walking online if you are wanting to learn more about Medicaid plans. Medicare Advantage, however, is more specific. These are health insurance plans that are a part of the Medicare program, and they include things like:

• Medicare Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
• Private Fee-for-Service Plans
• Medicare Special Needs Plans

The interesting thing is that these plans do exist and are available under Medicare, so it is only my educated guess that Health Net was lobbying to reduce restrictions here as well, possibly opening the doors to more potential members and not barring people for health issues.

Considering that Medicare is intended to provide health care to our elderly population, trying to keep people from getting health coverage based on preexisting medical conditions is pretty absurd. You show me one 75 year old who has made it that far in life without bringing any medical baggage along with them and I’ll buy you a cookie.

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There are some health insurance companies where you feel like you are being taken advantage of at every single turn. Hidden charges show up on bills, you don’t have an easy time getting in to see your doctor, and you may spend upward of an hour trying to get the right person on the phone for customer service. This is not to say that health insurance companies exist simply to frustrate you: quite the opposite. Sometimes they just do not seem like they are doing all they can to best serve your interests as a consumer or customer. Health Net, one of America’s biggest health insurance companies serving over 6.7 million people across the country, has recently stepped up to the plate big time in the game of keeping people’s best interests (and health) at heart. In the third quarter of 2008, the insurer spent $670K lobbying with the federal government for a variety of different groups and lifting coverage restrictions.

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Yesterday, we looked at the types of health reform that Obama plans on instituting. Today, we’ll look at how these plans may be carried out.

If you were hoping Obama was going to charge in on his gallant steed and change the way health insurance operates in this country, you are probably mistaken. “The Obama plan is actually quite traditional,” says John Sheils, Senior Vice President of the Lewin Group, a health care policy research company. “It is very similar to the proposals made by other democratic candidates during the primaries.” This isn’t something to get down about, but realistic expectations should be held near and dear. Although there are some changes and extensions that Obama is hoping to make to the way things operate currently, what he drafts and what actually makes it through Congress are another story.

Bill Clinton and George Bush didn’t get bills passed simply due to lack in trying. Congressional support from the Democratic members, as well as their input, is going to be a crucial component of how the health care and insurance turns out for all of us, so that is what you will want to keep your eye on.

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Times are lean. Despite having a new and exciting Presidency looming, our country is still in the throes of a great financial crisis, and more than ever, people are struggling to pay the bills. If you have medical bills piling up and don’t think you can get out from under them, do not despair.

The following article is intended to help you figure out the best ways to help save money on medical bills. A word to the wise: Letting the bills pile up unopened is a sure-fire bet for disaster. Take a deep breath, get out the letter opener, and get ready to take control.

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Hospitals are meant to be safe havens, providing care and a place of recovery for the sick, injured and infirmed. Unfortunately, they have become places where many are robbed of their hard-earned money in hidden charges, fees for unnecessary treatments and lack of coverage from their health insurance plan. According to recent studies, hospitals are overcharging unsuspecting consumers a whopping $10 billion per year. Luckily, you are not doomed to a lifetime of high hospital charges. There are tips and tools at your disposal to make sure that you are only paying the fees that are necessary for you, and you can ensure that the money saved can go toward preventative care to help you stay out of the hospital in the future.

Request an Itemized Bill

You may get a bill at the end end of a surgery or extensive hospital stay for something like $25,000 dollars, and have no idea what you are being charged for. Before the bill even gets placed in your hands, request that the hospital make it into an itemized bill for you. One woman whose husband had just had hip replacement surgery saw charges for newborn blood work and a crib mobile. Unless her husband had had a baby while he was in the hospital, these charges were ridiculous and egregious. Hospital overcharges average about $1,300 per patient, per hospital visit, so requesting an itemized bill can help you avoid paying for things like $129 for a box of tissues.

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