One Small Step for My Health, One Giant Leap Backward for Health Care

I went to see my doctor today for a routine check up and to "renew" some of my meds. While I generally eschew going to the doctor, I like my current primary care provider because he actually spends quality time with me: He asks me how I feel physically, emotionally, spiritually, and physiologically, understanding that all of these attributes work together to form the basis of the health of his patients.

For me, his holistic approach is the right combination of "traditional" medicine and alternatives to medicine.

As it turns out, one of the meds I take for high cholesterol (despite my fanatic exercise regimen and scrupulous eating habits, my cholesterol was high, so a few years ago I went on Lipitor). Lipitor has worked very well for me, lowering my cholesterol to 164. That's one small step for my health.

Here's where we start going backwards, though. Lipitor is an expensive drug--one for which the insurance companies are loath to pay, especially when more affordable alternative "statins" are available.

Accordingly, Fallon, my health insurance provider, mandates my doctor switch me from Lipitor to a new drug called Zocor. I have no choice. Zocor is significantly cheaper than Lipitor (no surprise there), so--realizing that I may very well spend the rest of my life ingesting this drug--Fallon wisely wants to spend less over the long term to support my statin drug habit.

And yet... Two weeks after starting my Zocor (Simvastatin) pills, I will have to get my liver tested to determine whether or not the new drug is harming that vital organ (a possible side affect). Four to six weeks after being on Zocor, my blood will have to be tested to determine whether or not the new drug is continuing to keep my cholesterol within acceptable levels.

If in the course of taking Zocor I experience any unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness at any time (some patients may have muscle pain or weakness while taking
Zocor. Rarely, this can include muscle breakdown resulting in kidney damage), I have to notify my doctor who will then have the excuse he needs to put me back on Lipitor.

Who pays for all the tests? Fallon.

At first glance, it doesn't make sense to invest all this money testing the effectiveness of the new drug when it appears more affordable to simply keep me on Lipitor and avoid all the expenses of switching me to a drug that may or may not work.

But health care is a business, and the companies in this field are in business to make money. Over the long haul, I understand it's cheaper for Fallon to put me on Zocor rather than keep me on Lipitor.

Problem is, the only way I'll know Zocor isn't working is when my cholesterol increases to unacceptable levels, making me a potential heart attack victim; or if my muscles start failing, which--given how much strain I put on my muscles--could result in more substantial damage. And then Fallon will have to pay more.

So I'm a spectator while Fallon gambles with my health.