O.T. Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan:

[Guest guest]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039 & refer=columnist_mccaughey & sid=aL\

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Here's where we are headed unless there is a huge outcry of dissent from the

public and physicians alike. Even that might not stop it.

I urge you to read the entire article. Here is an excerpt.

" 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.

New Penalties

Hospitals and doctors that are not " meaningful users " of the new system will

face penalties. " Meaningful user " isn't defined in the bill. That will be left

to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose " more stringent measures

of meaningful use over time " (511, 518, 540-541) "

.. . . . . . .

"

Elderly Hardest Hit

Daschle says health-care reform " will not be pain free. " Seniors should be more

accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That

means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill

would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal

Council (464). "