So, when was the last time you received some spam e-mail from one of the major drug companies telling you that their product will enlarge the size of your penis? I receive so many of these e-mails that I am starting to have a complex. Add to that the e-mails and ads we see from companies for products like Viagra, Lipitor, Zoloft and Vioxx and it is difficult to escape the pressures to use these so-called miracle drugs. Interestingly enough, all of these drugs have nothing to do with prevention, but everything to do with symptoms, mostly medical, or in the case of Viagra a cultural symptom that says men need to get an erection until they are 6 foot under. And what about the names of these drugs? I'd like to sit through a marketing session with these companies to see what process they go through to come up with these names. Does anyone think that using a drug called Zoloft is somehow appealing?

The absurdity of the how the pharmaceutical industry tries to force us to buy these drugs is symptomatic of how bad the health system is in this country. In Michael Moore's most recent documentary Sicko, we were confronted with the ugly realities of a bankrupt health care system in the United States. Many people were brutally familiar with this issue before the film came out since they have little or no access to health care, but the movie presented the information in such a way to look at how the for-profit health system works. The reality is that some 47 million Americans have no health insurance and according to Physicians for a National Health Program, roughly 18,000 people die in the US every year because they have no health insurance.

This issue hit home with me recently when one night I woke up feeling nauseous, the entire room was spinning and then I passed out. When I came to, I was a bit freaked out since I had no idea what was going on. Not knowing what to do, I asked my housemates to take me to the emergency room. So here I am disoriented, ready to throw up, and the first thing they ask me is "do you have insurance?" I say no and then they ask me to fill out some papers, which I can't, because the room is spinning around.

Once I get into the emergency room, I wait for nearly 20 minutes before a doctor sees me. I tell him what happened and he says they are going to run some tests. They check my vital signs, take an x-ray, and do a scan of my brain to see if I have a tumor. Everything comes back negative so the doctor gives me some pills that he says will help with my dizziness. I ask him what is wrong with me and he says he doesn't know. I said what should I do if I pass out again and he tells me to come back.

I go home and within 10 minutes, I throw up several times and then pass out again. So, I did what he recommended, which was to come back to the hospital. Now, keep in mind they just saw me about 45 minutes prior to this and when I show up they process me the same way asking, "do you have insurance?" I said I was just there and they have all my information. They tell me it doesn't matter and I must fill out the paper work again. This time they hook me up to an I.V. and just monitor my vitals. After 90 minutes, I am discharged and given a prescription for more anti-dizzying medication, but still no diagnosis.

Since then, I have seen a Chinese herbalist and spoken with a few friends in the medical field who all told me that I have what is called benign vertigo. In fact, I found out that there are several people I know who have had benign vertigo, which would lead me to believe it must be something the medical community is familiar with. I also found out there is no real treatment for this, but that it eventually will go away.

A few weeks ago, I started receiving bills from the hospital for my emergency room visits. I received five separate bills. The first was from Kent Radiology for the x-ray. The total was $180.00. Next, the doctors each sent me a bill since I saw two different doctors in the span of 2 hours. Their two bills came to a total of $847.00. The last two bills I received were from the hospital, since I was processed two different times. The total for these two bills was $3,167.75. The grand total for these services that resulted in my having no diagnosis was $4,194.75. So, I ask you, what kind of a crazy system do we have where this kind of cost is laid at the feet of people who are at the mercy of the medical establishment?

This crazy medical system not only makes it impossible for people to have affordable health care, they are constantly on the offensive to maintain this kind of a system by spending $4 billion dollars annually on TV ads pushing drugs we don't need. The consumer advocate group Commercial Alert has this to add:

"Prescription drug advertising is not educational. It is inherently misleading because it features emotive imagery and omits crucial information about drugs and their proper use, as well as about side effects and contraindications that can be found on the full FDA-approved label. Drug companies have an inherent and irredeemable financial conflict of interest which drives them to exaggerate the positive and minimize the negative qualities of their own products."

However, those in the for-profit health sector are also constantly trying to influence public policy on the healthcare front. According to the Center for Responsible Politics, the pharmaceutical industry alone has spent over $154 million dollars lobbying Congress since 1990, HMOs another $55 million, and hospitals over $99 million.

Healthcare is certain to be an issue in this year's congressional and presidential races. In looking at Senator McCain's position on healthcare one can find rhetoric that says, "he wants to restore control to the patients themselves." Well, pardon me for asking, but what the hell does that mean? McCain's actually plan calls for a reform of the tax code, which will provide more than an employer-based health care system, making insurance more "portable," and expanding the benefits for Healthy Savings Accounts (HSAs). Still sounds like a for-profit system to me.

On the Democrat side, we hear both Clinton and Obama use the term "universal healthcare" to describe their plans. Sounds really wonderful, but we need to be clear what "universal healthcare" means. Like Senator McCain, Senator Clinton wants a "portable" healthcare system and to "put consumers in the drivers seat." She wants to "provide tax credits for working families to help them cover their costs and to ensure that working families never have to pay more than a limited percentage of their income for health care." Hmmmm, still sounds like a for-profit system.

Then there is Senator Obama. He also wants "portable" health insurance, healthcare benefits similar to the Federal Employee Program, and "an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private healthcare plan." This is still not going to change how the healthcare system operates, since it does nothing to challenge the profit motive.

One big reason why none of the major candidates are not advocating major changes in the health care system, is because they have been recipients of large sums of money from that same system. Again, according to the Center for Responsive Politics the Pharmaceutical Industry has contributed large sums to the front running candidates with Senator Obama receiving $636,327, Senator Clinton receiving $567,581, and Senator McCain receiving $172,750. From the Healthcare services/HMO sector Clinton has received $491,271, Obama $375,621 and McCain $163,350. From the hospital industry, Obama has received $996,361, Clinton $941,881 and McCain has received $237,286. For those who think any of the presidential candidates are going to significantly change the health care system once they occupy the White House, ask yourselves this...are the for-profit health care companies who are giving all this money to the candidates doing so with the hope that whoever is elected will do anything to threaten their profit margin?

Jeff Smith works with the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) and will be hosting a medical bill burning ceremony some time soon.