Obama Economic Stimulus Bill Health Care Scare – Stealth Provisions Will Ration Senior Care Applying a Cost-Effectiveness Standard for Medicare
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.â€
Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.
Read the entire piece and pay particular attention to the cost-effectiveness standard for senior’s Medicare.
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).
The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.
Hidden Provisions
If the Obama administration’s economic stimulus bill passes the Senate in its current form, seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing. Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years and sacrifice later.
The Democrats slipped into the Democrat/Obama Stimuls Bill a path to UK type socialized medicine standards.
Surprise.
Great transparency from the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats – NOT.
The House and Senate GOP Caucus should insist that these provisions be stricken from the final bill in Conference Committee. If the provisions are NOT removed, the GOP should expel Susan Collins, Olympia Snow and Arlen Specter from the Republican Party IMMEDIATELY.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Economic Stimulus Bill, S.1, HR.1, PORKULUS
8 Comments
Pingback:
Candace - ADA Logo Design
It is truly scary to imagine just what exactly is in this stimulus package along with the fact that no one could possibly know everything that is being snuck in there by Pelosi and her cohorts. In watching the President speak last night, it became clear that even he does not know what he is signing off on.
Now Mr. Obama ran for the presidency and was elected largely on a platform which promised health insurance benefits to everyone who could not afford it – but we also know that government-run programs for health care do NOT work. As someone with several friends in Canada, I know that they alternately praise and curse the system depending on how it treats them (usually cursing)! In fact, even with their government sponsored program, there are many agencies in Canada which sell health insurance and many dental practice marketing efforts which promise to provide more comprehensive care because the current plan just doesn’t cut it.
Pingback:
Senior Care Worker
There are so many pages in the bill that it is entirely possible you are right. My guess is that many people have had readers who thumbed through the bill for them. This is shocking, and I don’t feel that this kind of treatment is ethical.
Frankie Truax
what a implausible submit, wow.
Vanessa
So, since treatments for younger patients are more often approved then treatments for older patients, once can see how this negatively effects our senior citizens. I think this is highly unfair and unethical, all just to save money.
Senior Services Ventura
intherumbleseat
The Democrats slipped into the Democrat/Obama Stimulus Bill a path to UK type socialized medicine standards. !! Surprise.!!
Surprised ? at such transparency from this Admin – I think NOT.
The House and Senate GOP Caucus should insist that these provisions be stricken from the final bill in Conference Committee. <> If the provisions are NOT removed, the GOP should expel Susan Collins, Olympia Snow and Arlen Specter from the Republican Party IMMEDIATELY. Yeah right! Good luck with that !! LOL
Where was the TRUTH in Journalism – The Media behind the Scenes — ?? Hope and Change a Reality
How SAD!!
SENIOR CARE MANAGEMENT
I understand that the system that we have for health care is not perfect, we need to to have necessary changes to make it better. But sometimes we becomes scared of what might happen but it shouldn’t stop us from trying. What i’m saying is, it’s not scary to have changes if its for the improvement but if it’s for the other way then we need to think twice and consider the possible outcome. After all, our intention should be for the good of the people.