This'n'That; February 11th[+][HealthCare;NYBudget]

NCHIT-Opinion Piece From Bloomberg.com [I found this opinion piece by Betsy McCaughey on Bloomberg.com. If you think this new bureaucracy is a good idea, you'd better read the edited text here!! More of my comments below.] Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Commentary by Betsy McCaughey Republican Senators are questioning whether obama's stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy. 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 he got caught defrauding the IRS, the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department. Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States." 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. 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.” Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far. New Penalties 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.” What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make. The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. 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. Elderly Hardest Hit Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt. Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council. The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis. In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision. Hidden Provisions If the obama administration’s economic stimulus bill passes the Senate in its current form, seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing. Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years and sacrifice later. 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. 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.” More Scrutiny Needed On Friday, obama called it “inexcusable and irresponsible” for senators to delay passing the stimulus bill. In truth, this bill needs more scrutiny. 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. [Betsy McCaughey is former lieutenant governor of New York and is an adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. The opinions expressed are her own.] [Whew!! That took a while; but consider what Ms McCaughey is conveying. As I read it, the Gubmint will be in charge of health care, make no mistake!! This portion has very little to do with health care, much to do with cost cutting!! How many times have you heard of government laptops being lost or stolen? So much for the security of personal information. One lost or stolen laptop has the potential to compromise thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of full names, social security numbers, controlled substance perscriptions, pharmacies used, etc. Think of the boon to the underground economy. The drug dealers, junkies and ID thieves would enjoy some true stimulus!! obama's handlers intend that every American medical record be under government control; 305+million records!! {The ID thieves are lining up as we speak!!} "Every American...." is a bit misleading; at least 535 individuals will not fall under these provisions. The Members of Congress and other high level bureacrats ARE NOT subject to routine health care; routine health insurance. You and I provide their health care and insurance FREE-completely independent of the norm!! Do you want some Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research lackey deciding that your elderly relative, after a diagnosis of osteoporosis, is at an age where the treatment would be too costly, the result too vague? The seniors among us will face health care rationing; that rationing in favor of younger participants. Who among us wants someone else to have access to such personal information as: one who has had an abortion early in life; one who may have caught STDs while serving their country in the military; one who was feeling down-that kinda "blue" feeling and asked their physican for a possible mental health reference; one who is an AIDS patient..... well, you get the idea-the government wants control of all that information and even more; the most intimate kind-most in your medical records. Although promised safeguards might be in place, what twenty-something can't find a way around all the protections? Do you want practically any "Dick and Jane" in government or for that matter, anyone employed by any number of contract companies hired to handle the "grunt" work, to have access to the most intimate details of your life?? On the face of it, health care reform may, just may, look like a good idea. The real, underlying reason democrats push for it so hard... ISN'T to help you and I... it's to maintain AND INCREASE the control as many facets of American [your] life and economy as possible!! HillaryCare ring a bell?!?! "...and More Control...." [The local rag published this "bovine fecal matter" in today's paper. It kinda stands to reason when one considers the liberal bent of the media in general and this rag in particular. The article doesn't tell you that the coalition is made up of the NY teachers union, the NY public employees union and the social services unions and organizations. What the article doesn't tell you is that these organizations have one of the most lucrative retirement systems in the land; a "defined benefit" plan inwhich the participant MAKES NO CONTRIBUTIONS and receives a pre-determined amount upon retirement. You and I [the vast majority of American workers] are under a "defined contribution" plan; we put in a percentage of each paycheck and the amount of the retirement checks is determined by the amount contributed plus [or minus] investment results. The downturn in the economy DOES NOT AFFECT a "defined benefit" plan..... and.... in New York State, any shortfall from investment results is made up by state taxpayers, as forced by the state constitution. As is the usual liberal mantra, they whine, piss and moan about how the elderly, the children and some important school programs that will suffer if someone other than themselves don't give up something; contribute more. Ya sure-as-hell don't see them begging Govner Dave to change their retirement program and put the proceeds into the general fund to save these threatened programs!! When my kids were of high-school age and the community wanted more in the sports and physical fitness arena we didn't go to the school board and whine. We [actually, they] formed a "sports boosters club" which raised money any way they could and put the funds into facilities and programs that most benefitted the students..... they DID NOT whine and bitch that someone else should suffer so they and their kids could benefit. There is a secondary and even more important benefit to those who worked with the "sports booster" organization. Both the original and current students [and residents] take great pride in the facilities and programs they built with their determination, can-do attitudes and sweat equity!! Thanks, Govner Dave for not "rolling over and playin' dead!!] Rich New Yorkers should tolerate an increase in income taxes so public-school students, senior citizens and the poor do not suffer, one coalition says. Seeking to avoid cuts in education and social services, the Fair Share Tax Reform Campaign, a coalition of educators, activists and service-agency officials, called on Tuesday for income-tax increases on New Yorkers who earn more than $250,000 a year. At a news conference at the Carlson Commons Community Center, the coalition warned of cuts to health services, job training and public schools' music departments if state government proceeded with plans to cut the state budget without exploring income tax increases. Campaign officials said without the tax increases, billions of dollars in cuts will be made to schools and services, including $6.8 million to the Rochester School District. The group estimated its proposed tax increase would raise $5 billion annually and help lawmakers avoid many of the cuts. Campaign officials said they oppose the budget plan by Gov. David Paterson, who pegged the next state budget at $121 billion, while adding more than 100 new sales taxes and fees. "The governor has not exhausted all of his options," said Demond Meeks, organizer for the Alliance for Quality Education. "We feel it is time for those in the top (income bracket) to pay their fair share." The campaign announced on Tuesday that it will lobby for a new income-tax rate of at least 8.25 percent for those who make more than $250,000 a year. The rate would increase to 8.97 percent for incomes above $500,000, and to 10.3 percent for incomes above $1 million. The state's current top income tax rate is 6.85 percent. Jeff Crane, superintendent of West Irondequoit Central School District, speaking at the conference, said he fears the most vulnerable programs at schools will have to be cut, including programs for art and music, unless further actions are taken. Responding directly to a question about the tax proposal in Albany, Paterson ruled out an income tax increase."Everybody's trying to find a way that they can keep spending," said Paterson. "I am just not going to support this." Til Nex'Time....