Several aspects of this bill are particularly scary. According to Betsy:
"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."My interpretation...no longer will a doctor be able to do what is in your best interest as his patient. Now the doctor must do what is in the best interest of the federal government. You may think that this will minimally affect your health. You would be wrong. Tom Daschle, who is strongly behind this part of the bill, wants to limit medical technology. Betsy states its all in Daschle's book.
"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." [Bold added]What is so horrific is that most people will not directly see the effects. They will continue to go to their doctors and continue to see care, but they will not see the lost opportunities in medical breakthroughs, nor hear about the missed medical procedures that doctors are not allowed to do because our federal government does not deem it acceptable.
If you feel as strongly about these issues as I do, please contact your politicians and let them know what you think.
Hi again John,
ReplyDeleteI started by reading your DSL article, but got carried away to read other stuff what you are writing.
About the stimulus package, I completely agree with you about effects to medical care. I am from a socialistic country (Finland), and unfortunately seen how it is. After 11 years here I really appreciate American individualism and freedom of choice. Even the freedom to make wrong choices. If US is following the Europe into socialized medical care, a medical patient will become a cost instead of a customer. I think that most Americans don't see how good the medical care has been, for people who bough the insurance.
Best regards,
Pekka Lehtikoski
ps. The whole stimulus package is reckless and irresponsible. Projected 1.6 trillion deficit this year will not yet bankrupt US, but this is not one time investment. The costs are likely to run at same level through 2010 and perhaps 2011 and later. All this must eventually be paid back by taxpayers.
Joke: I taught that Bush with his war were bad business, but the new guy seems to be able to do the same in year, what took Bus three.
Pekka,
ReplyDeleteI hoped you enjoyed the reading.
There is a lot I could say about the stimulus package, but others have done so much better than myself. Its worse than useless. But its generally too depressing to write about, so I choose to write on other subject areas.
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is best to concentrate on things which we can make better, or which make us happy.
Best regards,
Pekka Lehtikoski