National Health Care in Stimulus Bill (Things You Should Know)

Another must-read article shedding some much-needed light on what other travesties lurk in the Stimulus Bill is Betsy McCaughey's "Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan" at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs

Highlights: Betsy outlines how all your medical treatments will be tracked by a federal database, but there's more. "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)." Also, "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 (464)." To summarize, a federal government board will be making decisions on what care or treatments you can receive based on how much they cost and how much longer you are likely to live.

Hmm, I don't remember reading that one in the Constitution. Is there an amendment that gives the federal government the power to control what treatments I can receive for my illnesses? And what, do you think, will be the consequences of effectively forcing American patients to forgo experimental treatments? Today's experimental treatments -- many of them -- are tomorrow's routine treatments. Heart by-pass surgery was once considered an experimental treatment. Food for thought.