Patients with sickle cell disease struggle with pain and suffering, even when they have good health insurance to fall back on. But a new study finds that an under-reliance on effective generic drugs is making them suffer unnecessarily.

At Kaiser Daily Health, it's reported that while there is an inexpensive, generic medication that can stop severe pain and the need for blood transfusions associated with sickle cell disease, few patients receive the treatment.

Why not? The answer lies in our mangled health care system. The number of sickle cell patients lies somewhere between 50,000 and 120,000 - a huge disparity - and not even the doctors know how many people are suffering from it. Fewer doctors are specializing in sickle cell, and not surprisingly, too many of its sufferers don't have good enough health insurance to warrant the kind of time with doctors that sickle cell patients need.

The result is that too many of those afflicted with the disease aren't properly educated in terms of their disease, and are not offered access to the generic drugs that could be helping them. This is why health insurance is so important; it provides patients with the regular doctor's visits that can ease pain, provide information, and minimize the damages caused by diseases like sickle cell.