Little Known Facts of the Healthcare Bill

I heard an interesting and horrifying interview with Dr. Betsy McCaughey, a health policy expert and patient advocate who has actually read the entire Kennedy healthcare proposal.

As many already have realized, Barack Obama is not telling us the whole truth about the healthcare bill (yes, I realize there are several versions of the bill floating around at this time). Obama has repeatedly said that we won't have to give up our current medical plan or doctor if we're happy with them. What he's not telling us is that if we lose our current insurance or want to change our plan, we cannot get a new private plan. We must choose the government option.

According to Dr. McCaughey, there is a lot of "Washington double-talk" in the Kennedy bill. For example, "No individual shall be compelled to enroll in a 'qualified' health plan" (sec. 3101). BUT, when you file your tax return, you must provide the IRS with proof of your enrollment in a qualifying plan. If you fail to do so, the IRS, in coordination with the expanded federal office on electronic medical records and a new state bureaucracy called a Gateway, will track you down, notify you of your failure, and fine you. The size of the fine will be determined by the secretary of health and human services and will be substantial enough to ".....accomplish the goal of enhancing participation." Is Congress going to participate in this plan? Of course not - they've exempted themselves!

One of Obama's chief advisers on this is Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of chief of thugs Rahm Emanuel. Dr. Emanuel believes the Hippocratic Oath is responsible for "overuse" of medical care. He has bemoaned the fact that the Hippocratic Oath drives doctors to do everything they can for a patient, regardless of cost. Isn't that what we want and expect our physicians to do? The point is, how much is done (or not done) for a patient should be between the doctor and the patient - the government shouldn't have a say in it.

The new coordinator of health information technology is Dr. David Blumenthal, who believes that there should be limits on the amount of health care people can get. I don't shock easily, but I am appalled at how coldly Obama talks about end of life decisions. I have inferred from what he has said that he believes once you reach a certain age, you shouldn't really pursue medical treatment. You should just give up, go into a hospice and get out of the way as quickly as possible.

The implication seems to be that once you get old, develop infirmities or become handicapped your life is not of value anymore. How sad and frightening that our president apparently sees human beings as expendable once they lose their usefulness.