This isn't much talked about, but there are health provisions in the Obama/Redi/Pelosi "Stimulus" Bill that are clearly a jump-start to socialized medicine in the United States. These provision have got Tom Daschle's fingerprints all over them. It's bad enough we are heading towards socialized medicine (so famously unsuccessful in Canada and England), but tell me again what on earth this stuff is doing in a so-called economic stimulus bill?? From Betsy McCaughey at Bloomberg Press:
"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."
"...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.' ”
"...The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept 'hopeless diagnoses' and 'forgo experimental treatments,' and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system."
"...The stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from medical and nursing education, to how patients are treated and how much hospitals get paid. The bill allocates more funding for this bureaucracy than for the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force combined (90-92, 174-177, 181)."
"Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. 'If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,' he said. 'The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.' "
"...The health-care industry is the largest employer in the U.S. It produces almost 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet the bill treats health care the way European governments do: as a cost problem instead of a growth industry. Imagine limiting growth and innovation in the electronics or auto industry during this downturn. This stimulus is dangerous to your health and the economy"
change eh comrade
Posted by: LastAmerican | February 10, 2009 at 10:24 AM
This bill is exactly what Obama had planned before he took office. He now has the complete control over Congress and the court system. He will be doing full nationalization of industries as he goes along but it will be within the next 6 months. There are many other provisions like taking away the right to bear arms for U.S. citizens.
The best thing to do is have your loved ones around you and pray to God for your salvation.
Posted by: pcm | February 13, 2009 at 06:47 PM