|
|
About Lt. Col. Carmen Reynolds, USAF (ret)
Carmen Reynolds is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel with
a background in healthcare management, journalism, business, computers and
teaching. She has a BS degree in Criminology & Law Enforcement, an MA in
Business Personnel Management, and a BA in journalism.
|
|
|
Social Bookmarking
|
Past Articles
Healthcare Bill: A Sinister Prescription Based on... |
Lt. Col. Carmen Reynolds, USAF (ret.)
Healthcare Bill: A Sinister Prescription Based on Misdiagnosis
January 22, 2010
Under the guise of assisting Americans in obtaining much-needed health care,
Congress is expediting foolhardy legislation fueled by tax increases and
draconian Medicare cuts, using every trick in the book to ramrod it through.
Despite the many other pressing issues such as unemployment and the lagging
economy, Congress maintains its No. 1 priority is healthcare, and this crisis
must be resolved now. There is much, much more not meeting the eye, however.
We’re told Democrats came to Washington D.C. last week, convening behind closed
doors to avoid the planned Conference Committee designed to merge the House and
Senate versions of HR 3590, a bill that has been mishandled first by its lack of
bi-partisanship, then its promised transparency.
C-SPAN requested coverage of the upcoming House - Senate
healthcare reform negotiations. However, it appears there won’t be much, with
the White House only agreeing to one hour of coverage, despite eight promises by
President Obama that the American people could witness the actions of their
representatives on C-SPAN. He promised we could see for ourselves if
representatives were advocating in the interests of the insurance companies or
for us.
Jack Cafferty of CNN-LIVE railed against President Obama and the
Administration’s failed promise of more openness and transparency in government
by shutting out the public and conducting secret healthcare negotiations. "It
was all just another lie that was told in order to get elected,” he said.
Kudos to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL-13), sponsor of the
"Sunshine Resolution” requiring public access to negotiations on the health care
bill, who filed a discharge petition Jan. 13 to force a House vote on his
proposal.
"In Florida we have one of the strongest right-to-know laws aimed at ensuring
that government leaders conduct the people’s business in public,” said Buchanan
in a redcountry.com article.. "No private meeting, no backroom deals, no
secrecy. It’s time to shine some Florida Sunshine on the Halls of Congress.”
Buchanan’s resolution demands the meetings to discuss the final details of the
health care reform bill are conducted in the open under the watchful eye of the
American people.
This bill, like many others, has ceased to be any form of Democrat versus
Republican issue. It’s now about the sheer physical and economic survival of
Americans.
When the federal government has the power to determine the level and quality of
health care we receive, it also has the power to determine whether we live or
die and how and when. Plus, there will be fines for not purchasing insurance
which could include jail time, keeping things exciting for the adrenaline-rush
crowd.
Consider November’s U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
recommendation to forego mammograms until at least age 50 a harbinger of things
to come. Expect frequent edicts and medical policy changes to save money.
There is much distrust and rightly so –
especially after the special deals U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (IND-Vt.), Ben
Nelson (D-Neb.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) secured. There
very well may be more, but we aren’t allowed to witness it for ourselves.
Nelson protected some of Florida's citizens from cuts in Medicare Advantage -
those who live in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, leaving our 64 other
counties to fend for themselves. Why?
These deals are one of three reasons cited for
this bill’s unconstitutionality, wrote U.S. Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah) in his Jan.
2 Wall Street Journal article where he specifically named the mandate to
purchase health insurance, the sweetheart deals and the requirement for the
states to set up insurance-benefit exchanges.
"Mandating anyone to purchase a service and
requiring states to establish health exchanges reduces them to little more than
subdivisions of the federal government and violate the letter, the spirit, and
the interpretation of our federal-state form of government,” he wrote.
And if anyone thinks Scott Brown’s victory in the special election for Ted
Kennedy’s Massachusetts senate seat could impact the final vote on this bill,
think again, despite the protestations by the president, Jim Webb and Barney
Frank. The Boston Herald reported the Democrats plan to stall his seating to
negate its possible influence on the outcome of the Senate vote. Note that U.S.
Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) was seated immediately after his win in District 23,
even before the certification of the final votes by its Secretary of State.
There is no question healthcare reform is necessary. But many viable concepts
such as malpractice insurance costs, tort reform and lowering premiums through
competition aren’t even included in either version of the 2,074-page bill. In
fact, premiums are projected to increase. What's more troubling though, is the
real motivation behind this bill and the reason for its quickening advance.
Taxpayers are calling, writing, e-mailing and sensing little sense of urgency in
Washington to our concerns. In fact, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) stated at
last week’s Town Hall meetings that the bill is a done deal with a small ray of
hope if Democrats for the Stupak Amendment hold things up. If challenged on its
constitutionality, other troublesome parts of the bill will still remain. Ho
hum.
That’s an easy pill to swallow if one already possesses a
golden health care policy largely funded by taxpayers. U.S. Rep. Fleming (R-La.)
was on the right track when he introduced H. Res. 615 which requires members of
Congress who vote to create a government-run health insurance agency to give up
their own comprehensive health insurance plans to join the public option they
advocate for others. Miller did sign on as a co-sponsor to that bill.
Congress automatically receives an annual Cost of Living
Allowance raise, thanks to the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. Another automatic
raise kicked in this month. Last year’s raise cost taxpayers $2.5 million.
Seniors will see no increase in their Social Security, and military retirees
will not get a COLA increase, however. Since Americans’ withholding tax will be
increased, the federal government receives a loan with everyone experiencing a
pay cut – while expenses for everything from bread to toilet paper rise.
Scott Brown stated during his campaign that the potential impact on Tricare and
Tricare for Life, the military medical insurance program for military, retires
and those retirees older than 65, has not yet been determined.
It’s no wonder a recent Gallup poll reflects a
14-percent approval rate for Congress and movements such as
FireCongress.com and
KickThemAllOut.com support the firing of all incumbents during the 2010 and
subsequent elections.
A recall effort is underway in Louisiana against
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, and Louisiana’s state Sen. A.G. Crowe (R-Slidell) is
introducing a bill that would make Obamacare illegal if it violates state laws.
Crowe says Obamacare violates Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution and feels
that it violates the 10th Amendment among others.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum this week announced that he finds the
individual mandate currently included in the federal health care legislation
unconstitutional.
"Congress’s unprecedented mandate on every citizen to purchase health insurance
coverage or to face a penalty raises serious constitutional concerns,” wrote the
Attorney General. "The health care individual mandate provisions as currently
drafted violate constitutional principles and lack constitutional authority for
Congress to enact.”
If the mandate appears in the final version of the bill signed by the president,
the States and citizens should pursue legal action to challenge it. He noted
that several Attorneys General had expressed interest in joining Florida if
legal action becomes necessary.
Many wonder why representatives in Washington aren’t mounting more resistance
when there is so much at stake - when our country is already bankrupt. This bill
cuts needed programs to add millions of eligibles to the rolls, and there is no
guarantee it won’t pay for abortions or illegal aliens.
In fact, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) last month introduced the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Bill which the National Association of
Evangelicals and the Catholic Bishops have been strongly pushing – to include
Amnesty. The clear intent then is, one way or the other, to have this healthcare
bill cover illegal aliens and that it be taxpayer-funded.
Robert Creamer’s new book "Stand up Straight: How Progressives Can Win,” lays
out this strategy, commencing with socialized healthcare and ending with amnesty
to add voters dependent on entitlement programs – providing a guaranteed
repository of "interested” voters. Even some Democrats aren’t enthused about
this bill, but for different reasons.
Former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former Vermont Gov.
Howard Dean advocated killing the bill. He told Vermont Public Radio this isn’t
health care reform or even insurance reform. "Because of the expense, it will
more likely make the crisis worse,” he commented.
Dean felt the nail in the coffin was the failure of the Dorgan amendment which
would have allowed for re-importation of cheaper drugs from Canada. Dean said
this was a bigger bailout to the insurance companies than AIG. Talk about large
companies...
This healthcare bill creates
at least 32 new bureaucracies, robs seniors of the care they will so
desperately need at the exact time they will need it, undercuts Medicare
payments to doctors, and devastates financially struggling family units and
physician practices at times they can least afford it.
Specifically, to pay for the expansion of insurance coverage, the bill increases
taxes by $493.6 billion, and reduces Medicare spending by $464.6 billion. The
bill would cut $134.9 billion from hospitals, $120 billion from Medicare
Advantage (MA), $14.6 billion from nursing homes, $42.1 billion from home health
agencies, and $7.7 billion from hospices.
Take hikes include a 40-percent tax on high cost healthcare plans. And we know
that this week the unions were able to decrease this amount for their Cadillac
plans. That difference must be made up somewhere…
Medicare payroll taxes will be increased by $53.8 billion. That translates into
an increase in our Medicare taxes on our pay. Health insurers will be taxed
$60.4 billion, drug manufacturers $22.2 billion and medical devices will be
taxed $19.3 billion. Translation? All of these taxes will be passed directly to
the consumer via increased reductions from our pay, increased healthcare
premiums, drug costs and prices for any medical devices.
Taxpayers will no longer be able to deduct medical expenses greater than 7.5
percent of their income. This figure now rises to 10 percent, unless the
individual is 65 years or older. This means less of our medical expenses will be
deductible.
Home health agencies and hospices should be the last areas cut. Home health
agencies assist families with the endless financial and emotional burdens of
caring for sick and elderly family members. Without them, some spouses and
family members aren’t even able to work because of these constant demands.
In fact, ask any family member how irreplaceable hospice assistance was during
his relative’s final months, weeks or days of life, and you will hear how
palliative care was a godsend to alleviate the pain and suffering kept the
patient comfortable.
The Administration initially identified the Medicare cuts would be used to
eliminate fraud and redundancy – not reducing current levels of care. In the
final application, the above cuts will directly affect those agencies and
patients receiving or destined to receive Medicare and Hospice services.
Medicare reimbursement is already so minimal that some physicians don’t accept
it and medical equipment companies are cutting back on staff and services.
Hospitals and nursing homes faced with these cuts will also be forced to reduce
staff, reduce ratios, refuse patients, and some will ultimately shut down –
exactly the opposite of what’s needed with our burgeoning aging baby boom
generation.
Congress has postponed for two months a 21.5 percent cut in Medicare
reimbursements. When this occurs seniors already less able and mobile will be
forced to travel longer distances for care. Physicians are already voicing their
plans to retire early, move their practices out of the country or change
careers. This doesn’t take into consideration the disincentive to young students
who might have once thought about a career in medicine.
For example, the Mayo Clinic which operates a hospital and four clinics in
Arizona have stopped taking Medicare patients, according to biggovernment.com.
Last year it lost $120 million on Medicare patients as the program’s payments
cover about 50 percent of actual costs. According to the Medicare Payment
Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare issues, nationwide,
doctors in 2007 made 20 percent less for Medicare patients than others privately
insured.
The bill expands Medicaid to cover all individuals up to 133 percent of the
Federal Poverty Level, which would increase the number of individuals covered
under the program by more than 40 percent, placing extraordinary burdens on
states. The FPL for a single person is $29, 330 and $88,000 for a family of
four.
This spells a financial death knell for Florida and other states. According to
the St. Petersburg Times, Florida is already predicting an unprecedented $2.6
billion deficit, whittled down from the $6 billion as a result of tax increases,
spending cuts, raids on savings accounts and the addition of stimulus money.
The main reason for this deficit is Medicaid. This subsidized health care
program for the poor is growing as the economy shrinks and will skyrocket in
2014 when Medicaid is expanded by this bill. The federal stimulus money that
helped the state avoid deep budget cuts will be running out this year.
Many physicians say the idea the public was sold that the American Medical
Association endorses this bill was misrepresented – that the AMA doesn’t speak
for the majority of doctors.
One local physician said that his seven calls to Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-FL)
office were a waste of time because he didn’t get to talk to anyone in a
position of authority to express his opposition to this bill. Asked by another
doctor to place his name on a list of those against Obamacare, he declined for
fear of reprisals or an IRS audit.
When Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the Special Health Care Advisor to OMB Peter Orszag,
says there’s a need to end the "traditional Hippocratic healthcare approach” and
bring in a population-based system to cut costs, red flags should go up and
sirens should blare.
Those with chronic diseases, disorders, dementia, disabilities or elderly are
destined to become further pariahs in this system – even the average American.
Rationing care to cut costs is the true objective. Ethics be damned.
In an article for the Hastings Center from 1996, "Where Civic Republicanism and
Deliberative Democracy Meet,” he writes, "…the reason the United States has
failed to enact universal health coverage is not primarily political or
economic; the real reason is ethical - it is a failure to provide a
philosophically defensible and practical mechanism to distinguish basic from
discretionary health care services.
It should be no mystery then that the perpetuity clause found before Christmas
recess by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in Section 3403 of the bill, makes the
Independent Medical Advisory Board provision non-repealable by any subsequent
House or Senate actions – a clause that is clearly unconstitutional. According
to historian Anton Chaitkin, this same clause was buried in the Lisbon Treaty
until it was discovered and deleted. This is the entity which will make the
decisions whether taxpayers are eligible for care based on age, recovery ability
and ultimately - cost.
Of grave concern are the thought processes behind an article Emanuel co-wrote
with Margaret Pabst Battin of the Hastings Center: "What are the Potential Cost
Savings from Legalizing Physician-Assisted Suicide?” Remember, these are the
advisors to the Administration implementing this bill.
Others she has written include: "Should Medical Care be Rationed by Age?”;
"Choosing the Time to Die: The Ethics and Economics of Suicide in Old Age;” "Can
we Copy the Dutch? Can Holland’s Practice of Voluntary Euthanasia Be a Model for
the United States?”; "Is there a Place for Euthanasia in America’s Care for the
Elderly?”; "Age-Rationing and the Just Distribution of Health Care; Is There a
Duty to Die?”; "The Least Worst Death: Selective Refusal of Treatment;” and
"Physician-Assisted Suicide – Yes, But in the V.A.?”
The emphasis on death and cost-cutting in these articles is blatant and
chilling.
This should give every reader pause and a renewed determination to continue the
calls, letter, e-mails and faxes to representatives in Washington D.C., as well
as an incentive to become actively involved in changing those Washington
representatives to ensure they listen and make the right choices for us - rather
than for big businesses with big interests who stand to make huge profits.
We need statesmen and leaders who won’t give up, who are capable of vociferously
fighting the universalists who wish to change the quality and duration of our
lives by advocating for the termination of the "traditional Hippocratic
healthcare approach.”
Why aren’t our representatives sitting down and protesting in the hallways about
not being included in the negotiations or screaming from the rooftops to save us
from what is coming?
Those legislators against this bill should walk out, returning to their
districts to work with state Legislatures to shore up 10th Amendment resolutions
with teeth and other important state legislation to protect us from the
overreach of a federal government out of control.
Prognosis: It’s a matter of life and death. |
