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The Forsyth County News Opinion 7 his is a page of opinions ours, yours and others. Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the writers and artists and may not reflect our views. America less likely than Spain to bow to terror WASHINGTON George Friedman, who runs the Stratfor private intelligence service, spot ted a change in al Qaeda's out look over the past year. The Islamist terrorist organization, which previously treated George W. Bus'h as largely irrelevant to its global designs, now has zeroed in on the presideht. Combining that change with the terrorist triumph in Spain points to an ominous trend in the war on terrorism and in the U.S. pres idential election. Failure of the Arab "street" to rise in response to the U.S. mili tary intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to questions in the Arab world about al Qaeda's relevance. The coordinated attack on Madrid commuter trains showed al Qaeda still can create havoc. However, the global sig nificance is the electoral defeat of Spain's conservative party. Headed for victory against the weak socialist opposition, the popular regime was voted out after the terrorist attack because it sent troops to Iraq. Al Qaeda’s regeneration points to the risk of suffering Spain's fate for any government joining forces with President Bush. But Friedman believes the ultimate target is Bush himself, predicting an attempted use of terror to defeat him in November. And that intent puts Sen. John Kerry in an uncomfortable pos ture. Kerry 's claim that unnamed foreign leaders told him they hoped for Bush’s defeat is regard ed in Democratic circles as the senator's first major blunder as prospective nominee. He cannot say w ho these leaders are. but the Bush-Cheney campaign has pointed to two overseas Kerry boosters that the senator did not have in mind: Kim Jong 11, North Korea's communist dictator, and Jose Luis Zapatero, Spain's socialist prime minister-elect. Kim's propaganda machine lately has taken to boosting Kerry and playing the American’s speeches on state radio, but that was no surprise to Japanese con tacts who weeks ago w ere told of "Dear Leader's" preference. Zapatero stunned Spanish Foreign Ministry professionals Wednesday by noting with approval that "the Americans will do it (change governments as Spain did) if things continue as they are in Kerry's favor." The foreigner whose approbation Kerry surely disdains is Osama bin Laden, but counter-terrorism experts say the U.S. election has become an al Qaeda priority. After the stunning Spanish election, a Stratfor report said, "given the use of planted explo sives in Madrid rather than sui- On your payroll CITY COUNCIL Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt RO. Box 3177, Cumming, GA 30028: (770) 887-4342 Mayor Pro-Tern, Lewis Ledbetter 205 Mountain Brook Dr.. Cumming, GA 30040: (770) 887-3019 Ralph Perry 1420 Pilgrim Rd., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-7474 Quincy Holton 103 Hickory Ridge Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-5279 Rupert Sexton 705 Pine Lake Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-4332 John Pugh 10813th St., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3342 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Charles Laughinghouse, Post 1 3550 Rosewicke Dr., Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 886-7937; office, (770) 886-2810 David “AJ." Pritchett, Post 2 4840 Chesterfield Court, Suwanee, GA 30024 (404) 392-6983; office, (770) 886-2809 John A. “Jack" Conway, Post 3 6130 Polo Club Dr., Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 886-9226; (770) 886-2807 March Kroeger, Post 4 9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506 office, (770) 886-2806 Eddie Taylor, Post 5 4195 Morningside Dr., Cumming, GA 30041 (770)886-2802 »- A ) Robert Novak cide bombers, al Qaeda is likely planning to carry on w ith this tac tic. particularly given the tremen dous success of the operation in Spain." Britain. Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Poland. Hungary and Australia were list ed as U.S.-aligned nations risking the Spanish punishment. Stratfor added: "A wave of attacks in those countries against soft tar gets . . . could shift the global balance." A new al Qaeda strategy twist was hinted last Thursday when the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the Madrid bombings, offered a cease-fire if Spanish troops actu ally leave Iraq as promised by Zapatero. That first known possi ble al Qaeda offer to negotiate with the West pressures weak European governments who might prefer appeasement to the fate of Spain. However, in Friedman's opin ion. al Qaeda's big target will be the United States. He sees an attack earlier (in the summer) rather than later (in the autumn), when it might boost Bush's re election chances. "The grand prize." said a Stratfor report, "would be triggering an election defeat for Bush something that clearly would demonstrate the group's influence over Western powers." The reaction from the left wing of the Democratic Party was sounded by Howard Dean, clinging to his national platform weeks after his presidential cam paign collapsed. Feckless as ever, Dean said Bush "was the one who dragged our troops to Iraq, which apparently has been a fac tor in the death of 200 Spaniards over the weekend." Kerry', clearly appalled, was succinct in his reaction to Dean: "It's not our position." Kerry is an experienced politician who has been unchar acteristically reckless in the euphona of his party victory. He is sailing dangerous waters, sup ported by rogue dictators and leftist opportunists around the world and risking rejection at home. Climaxing over three centuries of defeat and decline on the world stage. Spaniards bowed to terrorism when they voted. Americans are consider ably less likely to make that choice. Robert Novak is a nationally syndicated columnist and a tele vision commentator. f APFRoACIXW ] * . Wll BENCH MiQUIfflX a a l/7 • J \ i Iv'WmVOwwW® Mi Hostility toward drug makers detrimental By Kelly McCutchen For the Forsyth County News Prescription drug costs represent 11 percent of total U.S. health care spending, according to the most recent federal data. This relatively small portion of our health care spending, however, has enormous potential to save lives and reduce overall health care costs. Unfortunately, rather than focusing on ways to enhance the role of pharmaceuticals in keeping people healthy, elect ed officials are in danger of chasing illusory savings via failed regulatory' schemes such as price controls. It is by now an often repeated fact that the 80/20 Rule applies to health care: 80 percent of the cost is driven by just 20 percent of the people. These individuals most often suffer from multiple chronic diseases such as hypertension, congestive heart failure, dia betes and depression. The sil ver lining in this statistic is that the majority of the health care costs incurred by these patients can be prevented. One of the most important elements of this strategy is to ensure that these patients have access to the prescription drugs that can prevent or reduce expensive complica tions of their conditions. It makes no sense to pay for kid ney dialysis for a diabetic patient, for example, when the correct medication could have prevented the complication in the first place. Working with these patients to help them understand how' to manage NATIONAL LEGISLATORS a < U.S. Sen. Zell Miller Russell Senate Office Building, Room C-3 Washington. DC. 20510 (202) 224-3643; Fax: (202) 228-2090 » U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss > [ 1019 Longworth House Office Building ■' , Washington, DC. 20515 E- ' q (202) 224-3521 | —< U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 10th District 2437 Raybum House Office Building, I Washington, D.C. 20515 l * Gainesville: PO. Box 1015, Gainesville, GA 30503 1 -4 ■ Gainesville, (770) 535-2592: Washington: (202) 225- 1 30 5211; Fax: (202) 225-8272 U.S. Rep. John Linder, 7th District > 1727 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-1011 L . Washington: (202) 225-4272; Fax: (202) 225-4696 1 I STAJE.LEGISLATQRS H j nrw,-,, < Sen. David Shafer, 48th District jMBk 109 State Capitol RFo" Atlanta, GA 30334 ”... <4 (404)651-7738 hk Sen. Casey Cagle, 49th District > 421 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334 M Telephone: (404) 656-6578; (fax) (404) k 0 Hr 1 651-6768 lk "EU LI ’*l < Sen. Dan Moody, 27th District (770)495-3127; IVI Office (404) 463-8055 <. I their disease, including access to the right medication and ensuring they take it as pre scribed, not only improves their health but saves everyone the expense of needless time in the hospital. A good example of such an innovative program is in North Carolina, where the city of Asheville has reduced its health care costs by focusing on education and prevention. The Washington Post reports that in Asheville, “pharmacists are paid to counsel patients, offering advice on diet, exer cise, stress reduction and med ications. Although drug costs rose, total health care spend ing on diabetics fell from 57.042 per patient in 1996 to about S4.(MX) apiece each year since the program began, in 1997." City officials report savings of S 4 for every $1 invested in the program. Given the opportunity for innovation, it is disappointing to see that Georgia is allow ing politics to trump policy and patients when it comes to pre scription drugs. As opposed to most health care providers who are struggling, most phar maceutical manufacturers are in good financial condition, making them an easy target. But easy does not equal right. Georgia already benefits from substantial discounts on the purchase of pharmaceuti cals for the Medicaid program. This discount program means the state purchases prescrip tion drugs at 15 percent off the manufacturers’ wholesale price. These discounts amounted to 5199 million in 2002. FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS -Thurtdiy, March 25,2004 - Evidently, some people don't think this is enough. A further discount has been pro posed. referred to as a supple mental rebate. But it is a “rebate" that amounts to blackmail: If a drug manufac turer refuses to provide this proposed additional discount, its prescription drugs would be removed from the state's preferred provider list. It effectively means that the company's drugs will not be used unless a physician is willing to navigate a maze of bureaucracy on behalf of his or her patient. Even riskier to patients are proposals that have recently emerged to set outright price controls on certain prescrip tion drugs in Georgia. Basic economic principles clearly indicate that price controls limit supply and tend to cause unintended consequences. If price controls were such a great idea, why haven't we put price controls on college tuition, gasoline and child care? There are far more effec tive ways to manage pharma ceutical costs. The governor's budget calls for a prescription drug audit. Evidence from other states shows that similar audits have identified 1-3 per cent savings on pharmaceuti cal purchases by finding errors in the complex formulas used to calculate rebates and dis counts. With Georgia purchas ing more than $1 billion of prescription drugs annually, the savings should not be triv ial. A long-term approach would be to create a buyer's Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District > I wtfr I (770)466-1507; Office (404) 463-1368 E ■ ■•0 < Rep. Tom Knox, 14th District Legislative Office Building, Room 504 EL_ufi - • 18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30334 • • i (404) 656-0188, or (770) 887-0400, law office Rep. Jan Jones, 38th District > 412 Legislative Office Building, Atlanta GA 30334 f * * (404) 656-0137 ArArf B< Rep. Jack Murphy, 14th District . Legislative office Building, Room 612, Atlanta GA 30334 (404) 656-0325; (770) 781-9319, home BQARDjQFEDUCATIQN Ann Crow 96 Barker Rd., Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 887-9640; acrow@forsyth.kl2.ga.us PaulKreqger 9810 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506 (770) 889-9971; pkreager@forsyth.kl2.ga.us Nancy Roche 7840 Chestnut Hill Rd., Cumming, GA 30041 (770) 889-0229; nroche@forsyth.kl2.ga.us Rebecca K. Dowell 2030 Commonwealth Place, Cumming, GA 30041 (770) 844-0830; rdowell@lorsyth.kl2.gaus Chairman Jeffrey Stephens RO. Box 169, Cumming, GA 30028 (770) 889-1470; jstephens@forsyth.kl2.ga.us market for prescription drugs. All too often, physicians and patients choose more expen sive drugs than necessary because physicians rarely have access to pricing information and individuals have little financial incentive to care. Creating a buyer's market would require making phar maceutical prices more trans parent, providing information on clinical effectiveness and creating the right incentives. A hostile policy toward pharmaceutical companies is, in fact, detrimental to patients and their health care. Georgia needs to embrace objective policies that don't restrict doc tors' and patients' ability to choose the most effective medications on the market, but place the financial incentives in the correct places. As the state pursues strategies that result in better health care for less cost, policy-makers should keep in mind that limit ing medical options and imposing price controls are policies that lead in the oppo site direction. Kelly McCutchen is execu tive vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, an independent think tank that proposes prac tical, market-oriented app roaches to public policy to improve the lives of Georgians. Nothing written here is to be construed as nec essarily reflecting the views of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the U.S. Congress or the Georgia Legislature. PAGE 9A