- (Bloomberg) -- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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).
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- 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.
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- 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."
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- Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings
is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.
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- New Penalties
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- 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)
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