NATIONAL HEALTH CARE -
VIA THE STEALTH OPTION!

Betsy McCaughy of Bloomberg has the details.

Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama's stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill's health rules will affect "every individual in the United States" (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and "guide" your doctor's decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, "Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis." According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and "learn to operate less like solo practitioners."

Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.

Trying to lob one past us when we aren't looking? No wonder President Obama was in such a flaming hot hurry to get this "stimulus" pork-laden package on the books. He didn't want ANYONE including the people who have to foot the bill (us) a chance to realize just how much nasty shit was included in this package.

I was under the impression that my health care information was confidential - totally between me and my physician. Does this legislation remove that protection from me as yet another incursion into my privacy rights? Doesn't sound real American in its intent to me!

One can only hope that our Republican legislators - a weak kneed bunch all too frequently, can find their cojones and get this rape of the U.S. taxpayer and economy stopped before it's too late.