Psychiatric drugs are gaining widespread acceptance these days, and that must be sweet music to the pharmaceutical industry’s ears. After all, they don’t earn much money from things like exercise, meaningful relationships, nutritious food, and balanced lifestyles. The pharmaceutical industry has fought long and hard to get their products out to as many people as possible – and the arena of mental health care has been a gold mine for them. I recently heard a story of a lady who was going through a rough time in her life, went to the doctor specifically for the purpose of “getting happy drugs” and was rewarded with prescriptions for three different medications. Two are to treat depression, and the third is to treat bi-polar disorder. This was all done in the space of one office visit, with no counseling or other treatment involved.
I hope that lady doesn’t have to apply for individual health insurance anytime in the next few years. She’s not in Colorado, but underwriters in most states will have trouble getting past three psychiatric medications being used concurrently, especially when one of them is used to treat bi-polar disorder. There is no doubt in my mind that this lady needed some sort of help – she was upset enough to want to go to the doctor in the first place. But it’s sad that mood-altering medications have become so ubiquitous (and so well-advertised) in our culture that people think of going to get drugs as the first step on the road to feeling better.
Pharmaceutical costs have played a major role in driving up health care costs over the years. Many of the health insurance companies we work with in Colorado now require a separate pharmacy deductible to be met before copays kick in for drugs. And then I read articles that describe how psychiatric drugs have become common-place in our society. I think there’s a connection here somewhere…
