[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H1136-H1138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RUIN YOUR HEALTH WITH THE OBAMA STIMULUS PLAN: BETSY McCAUGHEY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the so-called economic stimulus
bill involves itself in health care. And, Mr. Speaker, if the seniors
in this country and the AARP take a real close look at this bill, I
believe seniors would not only be calling the Capitol, raising cane
about what's in it, but they'll be marching on the Capitol.
What it's going to do is it's going to require that there will be
rationing, and it will be based upon some formulas that will say if you
only have an
[[Page H1137]]
expectation of another 8 or 9 years of life left, or 4 or 5 years, that
they will ration the care that you get based upon the life expectancy.
It's unbelievable.
Let me just read to you some things that Mr. Daschle had put in the
bill before he was removed as the potential head of HHS. 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 Effective Research. Pages 190-192 in the bill.
The goal, Daschle's book explained, is to slow the development and use
of new medications and technologies because they're driving up costs.
He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept ``hopeless
diagnoses'' and ``forego experimental treatments,'' and he chastises
Americans for expecting too much from our health care system. The
elderly are hit the hardest.
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 of what is
in this bill.
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
United Kingdom 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.
So they are going to figure out how many years you're supposed to
live and then they're going to divide the treatment based upon the
years. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than
treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
In 2006, a UK health board decreed that elderly patients with macular
degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before you
could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost 3
years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.
There are hidden provisions in this bill. If the Obama
administration's economic stimulus bill passes in its current form,
seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing of health care.
Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years
and sacrifice later. Let me say that gain. Seniors in the U.S. will
face similar rationing of health care as they have in the UK.
The stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from the
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
opposition. ``If that means attaching a health care plan,'' and this is
a quote now, ``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.''
If I were talking to the seniors of this country, I'd say you really
ought to read this bill. You ought to look at pages 445, 454, 479, 442,
446, 511, 518, 540, 541, 190, 192, and 464. I know I went through those
fast, but I am going to put this in the Congressional Record and it
will be on my Web site.
But every senior American and the AARP ought to be very concerned
about this, Mr. Speaker, because it will result in rationing health
care for seniors, and it will minimize health care for a lot of other
people as well, even because they are younger.
And the doctors in this country and the nurses and health care
officials ought to be very concerned because it's going to impose
penalties on them if they don't follow the government's requirements.
It's in the bill. This isn't baloney. And I hope my colleagues and
everybody will take a hard look at it.
Mr. Speaker, if the seniors across this country are paying attention,
I hope they will read the bill as well.
Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan
(Commentary by Betsy McCaughey)
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg)--Republican Senators are questioning
whether President Barack 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
recently 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. (Page numbers
refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).
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.''
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'' (511, 518, 540-541)
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
(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 healthcare 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 (464).
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 (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.''
More Scrutiny Needed
On Friday, President 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
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auto industry during this downturn. This stimulus is
dangerous to your health and the economy.
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