Stanley Feld M.D., FACP, MACE
The House of Representatives Healthcare Bill is 1018 pages long. Many Representatives and Senators did not read the entire economic stimulus bill because “we did not have time” before we experienced a severe economic recession. They claimed to be saving us from another great depression.
I have read a good portion of HR3200. The provisions are unacceptable and sinister. It represents a complete government takeover of our healthcare system. It is not in the interest of the consumer. It is not in the interest of our precious freedom of choice.
A reader of my blog sent me a summary of HR 3200 written by Larry Schweikart. The reviewer FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Larry Schweikart is the author o 48 Liberal Lies About American History: (That You Probably Learned in School) and A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror. He blogs at patriotshistoryusa.blogspot.com. Mr. Schweikart is not the most liberal person on the planet. However, his analysis is about 80% accurate by my reading of the sections Mr. Schweikart summaries.
Every Americans, especially our Senators and Representative must know what is actually in the bill before it is passed. President Obama’s generalities do not cover the details of HR 3200.
It feels like Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged all over again.
The mainstream media is not covering the real story.
Below are few video clips that try to tell the real story
Mr. Schweikart evaluated 498 of the 1107 page bill. The summary of one half HR3200 is frightening. His summary is a good reference guide to the appreciation of the harshness of the bill. It also explains President Obama’s urgency in getting a bill passed before anyone realizes the implications of the bills contents.
Representatives who vote for this bill should not be reelected. They are not representing their constituents’ rights or protecting their freedoms. Your healthcare, health and freedoms are at stake.
You can check the reviewer’s summary against the actual bill at the link below.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.txt.pdf
“Take a look at what actually is in the Health Care bill. Obama makes disingenuous comments like "You'll still keep your doctor" or "You'll keep your existing health care."
Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self insured. Can you imagine what that will do to small businesses? Everyone will abandon “self insurance” and go on Government insurance. So when Obama says that there will still be private health care, it’s simply a lie: this mandate will force employers to abandon their private plans.
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill – a Government committee will decide what treatments/benefits a person may receive.
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE WILL BE RATIONED! President Obama has been saying healthcare is to be rationed all along in code.
Pg 42 of HC Bill – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You will have no choice!
Pg 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.
Pg 58 HC Bill – Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances and a National ID Healthcard will be issued! Government has real-time access to your tax return presently and means test Medicare recipients’ premiums
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accts for election funds transfer. A further impingement on freedom and privacy.
Pg 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (read: ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control.
Pg 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange.
Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Government will ration your Healthcare!
Pg 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example - Translation for illegal aliens.
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e. ACORN & AmeriCorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.
Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed.
Pg 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.
Pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Government on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Government Monopoly.
Pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ AMA - The Government will tell YOU what you can earn.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Employer with payroll $400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.
Pg 150 Lines 9-13 Businesses with payroll between $251k & $400k who don’t provide public option will pay 2-6% tax on all payroll.
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HC according to Government will be taxed 2.5% of income.
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay.)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (the GOVERNMENT) will have access to ALL Americans’ finances and personal records. Big brother will be watching your every move.
Pg 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that.
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected. Kill off the poor and elderly.
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill – Doctors – doesn’t matter what specialty – will all be paid the same.
Pg 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor’s time, professional judgment, etc. Literally, value of humans.
Pg 265 Sec 1131Government mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.
Pg 268 Sec 1141 Federal Government regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.
Pg 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!
Pg 280 Sec 1151 The Government will penalize hospitals for what Government deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Doctors who treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission - Government will penalize you.
Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion - Government will mandate hospitals cannot expand.
Pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!
Pg 335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures which of course forces health care rationing.
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc., forcing people into Government plan.
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Government creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Committee. Healthcare by phone.
Pg 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations. Think Senior Citizens end of life prodding.
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Government will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!
Pg 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in how to die. EVERYONE on Social Security, (will include all Senior Citizens and SSI people) will go to MANDATORY counseling every 5 years to learn and to choose from ways to end your suffering (and your life). Health care will be denied based on age. 500 Billion will be cut from Seniors healthcare. The only way for that to happen is to drastically cut health care, the oldest and the sickest will be cut first. Paying for your own care will not be an option.
Pg 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The Government has a say in how your life ends.
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "advanced care planning consultant" will be used frequently as patients’ health deteriorates.
Pg 429 Lines 10-12 "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from the Government to end a life!
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The Government will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
Pg 430 Lines 11-15 The Government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.
Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services/Non profit orgs. (ACORN Medical Services here?)
Pg 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION. 1 monthly payment to a community-based organization. (Like ACORN)
Pg 489 Sec 1308 The Government will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Government into our marriages.
Pg 494-498 Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services. You’d better speak up now before you are on the "advanced care consultation" list.
It gets worse: the Health Care Reform bill that is now about to come up for a vote will absolutely eliminate private health care options. Do not kid yourself: They are going to say that they aren't going to interfere with your right to go to your "own doctor" or have your own "private health insurance." But there won't be non-government doctors or private health insurance if the government mandates them out of existence.
Even still, I hear people who want to "get past all this partisanship." Sorry, but GROW UP.
Our system from the beginning has pitted one group against another out of fear of the very giant government that is metastasizing before our eyes. James Madison didn't like "parties" or "factions," but he finally admitted that they were absolutely necessary to fragment power.
For our system to work there has to be a clear choice, not a mushy middle, because the mushy middle always, always, always gravitates left. There is a "presumption of power" on the left –conservatives, by nature, do not like government, don't trust it, and do not want to use it to advance their ends, which they see as advanced through liberty, individual achievement, and entrepreneurship.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Larry Schweikart is the author o 48 Liberal Lies About American History: (That You Probably Learned in School) and A Patriot’s History of the United States: From Columbus’s Great Discovery to the War on Terror. He blogs at patriotshistoryusa.blogspot.com.
It is hard to read H3200 and comprehend its implications. However, a careful reading leads me to similar conclusions to those of Mr. Schweikart.
Do you think your representatives have studied the bill? If they have and vote for it they should lose your vote. If they have not read it and vote on party lines they should lose your vote.
This bill is not going to Repair the Healthcare System. It will make the healthcare system more complex, restrict access to care, restrict the delivery of care, ration care, limit freedom of choice, and increase the deficit.
Americans have to demand that congress tackle the real problems in the healthcare system. Have you contacted your Representative and Senators? If you have, good for you. If not , what are you waiting for?
Let your Senators and Representatives know the proposals are unacceptable. Write, fax, call, email, twitter. Tell them:
“We do not want the government to control our lives. We want affordable, universal healthcare coverage that does not limit access to care. We want control over our healthcare dollars. We do not want government to control our lives and our money.”
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone.
Sir,
I would like to better understand your read of this. In some ways your points of interpretation are completely the opposite from what I read. The language in the bill seems simple enough, but maybe I'm missing something. We'll use the example of rationing. Please excuse the numbers and word cutoffs, but I wanted to copy and past directly from the draft of the bill i read.
First mention I saw pertaining to Rationing: On page 28 of the draft I've read continuing to page 29:
24 In developing such recommendations, the Committee
25 shall take into account innovation in health care and
1 ensure that essential benefits coverage does not lead
2 to rationing of health care.
Pertaining to treatment of cancer and your arguments regarding rationing of their care: page 212
18 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS.
19 Section 1833(t) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
20 1395l(t)) is amended by adding at the end the following
21 new paragraph:
22 ‘‘(18) AUTHORIZATION OF ADJUSTMENT FOR
23 CANCER HOSPITALS.—
24 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct
25 a study to determine if, under the system under
1 this subsection, costs incurred by hospitals de
2
scribed in section 1886(d)(1)(B)(v) with respect
3 to ambulatory payment classification groups ex
4 ceed those costs incurred by other hospitals fur
5 nishing services under this subsection (as deter
6 mined appropriate by the Secretary).
7 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF ADJUSTMENT.—
8 Insofar as the Secretary determines under sub9
paragraph (A) that costs incurred by hospitals
10 described in section 1886(d)(1)(B)(v) exceed
11 those costs incurred by other hospitals fur
12 nishing services under this subsection, the Sec
13 retary shall provide for an appropriate adjust
14 ment under paragraph (2)(E) to reflect those
15 higher costs effective for services furnished on
16 or after January 1, 2011.’’.
All this is saying is that they will monitor to ensure that hospitals that offer the same services will be compensated accordingly.
I really want to understand, from which specific lines (not your read-ins or comments) are you drawing rationing? The above are two sections you reference in making such arguments. It will help the credibility of your point and perhaps help others who may be similarly confused.
Best,
J
Posted by: JCF | August 12, 2009 at 01:18 PM
This is quite a detail and comprehensive posting on The House of Representatives Healthcare Bill HR3200. Thanks for all these information. It is really helpful.
Posted by: Health Remedies | August 02, 2009 at 09:55 AM