Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 2 ^ I f ^ WUIIIIIBII K I Serv j Annivei 5 Years Ira Honeycutt Bailey Luther Smith Jr No. 2 Willis Wedman No. 2 Willie Boyd No. 2 Clyde T. Thames Geneva Lillian D. Nolen Geneva Patti J. Smith Office Gary I. Kuykendall Bailey Ralph Bell No. 1 Larry J. Barrett No. 2 Harold Lowery No. 2 George Kinard No. 2 ' Emerson Johnson No. 2 Pam Nance Lydia Anthony Crawford Lydia Evelyn 0. Jones ..Lydia Tommy Reeder Lydia Henry Kennedy Lydia Clevan Summers Lydia James R. Nelson Lydia Sara Simpson Lydia Mary Estes Lydia Randall Hendrix Bailey George E. Barnett Bailey Betty Brewington No. 1 10 Years William B. Prince No. 1 Patricia Ray No. 1 Ernestine Simpson No. 2 Reuben Stroud No. 2 Roger Higgins Lydia George L. Moore Bailey Claude Ward Nn 1 Michael Vance No. 2 Ann Moore No. 2 Ervin Swittenburg Lydia Generic drugs What is a generic drug? A generic drug is a drug identified by its official or chemical name rather than the USUallv more exr>en<;ive hranrl namp FV ov. ample, "Bayer" is a brand name, aspirin is a generic name. Are generic drugs as good as brand name drugs? All drugs, whether they are sold under their brand names or their generic names, must meet the same FDA standards for safety, strength, purity and effectiveness. And all drug manufacturers, large or small, are subject to FDA inspection. VAiU.. -4- ?J ??iijr uu generic drugs usually COSt less? The drug company that develops a new drug acquires exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the drug under its brand name for 17 years. The costs associated with the research, development and marketing of the brand name drug are reflected in the price paid by the consumer. After 17 years, the chemical or generic equivalent of the brand name drug can be manufactured and sold by others. And since no extraordinary expenses are involved in the manufacture and intro " ~^w ice ' rsaries t 15 Years Leonard Pitts No. 2 Barbara A. Vance No. 2 Lorraine McGowan No. 2 Josephine Taylor Lydia V. Wyman Livingston Sr No. 1 Corrine Gilliam Lydia 20 Years Ralph E. Sheriff No. 2 John F. Alexander No. 2 25 Years Evelyn Scott No. 1 JohnnyC. Holder Lydia P.hrictino CamnKoll Lyuia 30 Years Samuel S. Williams No. 1 Louise Blackwell No. 1 Nesby M. Rowe . No. 2 Hubert Rollins No. 2 35 Years Gholdie Simmons No. 1 William E. Heaton No. 2 Roosevelt Jones No. 2 Charles L. Barlow Lydia Mary Martin No. 2 James P. Woodward No. 1 Tears Ben Woodard Jr No. 1 save money duction of the generic drug, it usually costs less. Are there generic drugs for every prescrip inn? HVI Not all medications have a generic equivalent, but many of today's most commonly prescribed drugs are available in generic form. Can my prescription be filled with a generic drug? That's a question that can best be answered by: YOUR DOCTOR...who can tell you if your prescription may be filled with a generic rather than brand name drug, and YOUR PHARMACIST... who can tell you what generic substitutes are available and at VAih^f ^Acf ffiiai V.UDI . So next time your doctor writes a prescription for you or one of your family members, ask if it can be filled with a generic drug. Why pay more if you can get the same quality medicine for less? Be a cost conscious health care consumer ? substitute and save! Cost shifting: tax on being It's called a lot of names in the hospital industry. Sick tax. Hidden tax. Cost shifting. Whatever you call it, it's just a hospital's way of making up for the money it loses on government-sponsored patients and patients who can't pay their bills. That loss is added to the charges of patients who DO pay or who are covered by niduidiitc. In 1982, it was about $4.8 billion na-# tionally. And probably about $210 million in South Carolina. With cuts in Medicare and Medicaid programs since then, it has increased substantially. Perhaps to as much as $5.8 billion in the United States. It works something like this. Government pays only what it defines as "allowable costs" for hospital care. Generally, this means that hospitals are paid about 80 percent of what it actually costs to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients for their covered days. If Medicare or Medicaid patients are treated beyond their "covered" days, hospitals are paid nothing. The loss that hospitals incur would quickly put them out of business, if it were not recovered in some way. That's especially true when you realize that Medicare and Medicaid patients make up about 34 percent of those hospitalized. So those costs are shifted to nongovernmental patients. Hospitals also incur losses when they treat medically indigent or charity patients and neither the county or other local government pays for the care. That loss may be substantial, especially for the regional medical centers, which receive referrals from many surrounding . counties. Hospitals, as businesses which must meet their payrolls and pay their bills in order to survive, must make up those losses. Hospitals, as social service institutions often with the specific mission of provid #J^K. ?tHKwl+ w jm > Adair Dean Miss Laurens County, Adair Dean, will be assisted by her father, Rev. Russell Dean and designer Gail Bcgley in presenting a patriotic Old Timer's program entitled, "Made In the USA." : The hidden sick ing health care to all members of the community, cannot turn emergencies away, regardless of their ability to pay. Hospitals also may find it harder to collect on "bad debts" than some other industries, simply because it's difficult to neaiiM care once us Deen oenvered. So, this "hidden tax" becomes a part of hospitals' charges. It's not a tax in the true sense of the word. But somehow it. seems like a tax because it is used to provide vital health care to those who need it and cannot afford it. Of course, no one has ever really asked the public if this is its preferred method of paying for hospital care for the poor. Hospitals don't prefer it. Hospitals and the South Carolina Hospital Association have argued consistently that both state and federal government should pay fully for programs they've mandated. If cuts must be made, then programs should be limited, rather than arbitrarily reducing payments and thereby shifting the cost of the program to other patients. Government often calls this "cost contain ment." Most patients see it as cost increases. Insurance companies certainly don't prefer the hidden tax. It forces them to raise premiums just as it forces hospitals to raise charges. As a matter of fact, many of the nation's health insurance companies are joining together in an effort to limit cost shifting. In some areas of 4he country, government pays so little a portion of its cost of health care and shifts so much of the cost to other patients, that it's becoming unprofitable for private insurers to write health insurance coverage. But. basically cost shifting just seems to be an inequitable way of solving a problem. It means that those people who are unfortunate enough to be ill and in the hospital bear a disproportionate part of the cost of hospital care for the poor and elderly. That's why some call it a sick tax; it's a tax on the sick. Old Timers gathering to feature local talent Miss Laurens County, Adair Dean, her father, the Rev. Russell Dean, and local designer, Gail Begley, will coordinate a series of activities at the 28th annual O'd Timer's Gathering. The Deans will entertain the approximately 500 Old Timers attending with a series of patriotic songs and designer Gail Begley and the Deans will conclude the program with a special performance promoting textile apparef made in the USA Mrs. Begley's outfit will be made from Clinton Mills' fabricsand supplied by D and C. Textile Corporation of 124 West 36th Street, New York, New York. ^