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"Another tense medical moment was when David and Martin questioned the pharmacy bills, which I too had often thought of as high but had come to accept. Several times in the past I went to the pharmacy in Khajuraho and Delhi to verify charges. Basically the question for David and Martin was: In light of how much people earn, how could they pay so much for medicine? Was there a scam to get money? If so, were the families in on it? This, of course, would have been devastatingly upsetting.
We went to the pharmacist and went through one of Baba's bills line by line. David was surprised at the number of medicines that were prescribed. The pharmacist explained that the doctors get a kick-back from the pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their medicine. David also found that some of the medicines prescribed for the children seemed to be contraindicated. We agreed that the families have no way of evaluating what is prescribed as most of us wouldn't. David asked the pharmacist what happens when people can't afford to pay for medicine. He said, 'They might die.' "
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