American patients would not spend $500 million a year on acupuncture, mostly from their own pockets, unless they believed that it worked.

He said it was "a long overdue victory for American patients and the care they receive."

Also, given that the study was conducted in Austria, its results may not apply to American patients.

As many as 450,000 American patients are taking the drugs, which can cost $1,000 per treatment.

It would be extremely unfortunate-particularly for American patients- if no agreement is reached on this critical program.

Economists say that drug companies - even foreign ones - are able to charge American patients a disproportionate share of their research costs.

No one understood this, but the average American patient would have had more choice under the Clinton plan than they now will.

Use of the system is expected to cost an American patient about $10,000 a year, usually covered by Medicare or other insurance.

There were rumors around the hospital about the rich American patient.

The precise number of American patients treated by it is not known, although the worldwide figure is more than 500,000.