Research Briefing

Obama’s Restrictions On Americans’ Health Decisions Could “Soon Be The Law Of The Land”

ROBERT GIBBS: “I Think Whoever Sits Here This Time Next Week, You Will Be Talking About Healthcare Reform Not As A Presidential Proposal, But As Something That Will Soon Be The Law Of The Land.” (Robert Gibbs, Fox News's "Fox News Sunday," 3/14/10)

IF HOUSE DEMS PASS OBAMA'S GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF HEALTH CARE, PATIENTS WILL LOSE THEIR FREEDOM FROM GOVERNENT INTRUSION …

Senate Dems’ Health Bill Mandates Electronic Medical Records Which Are “Included In A Nationally Linked Database.” “Requiring everyone to buy federally sanctioned health insurance, and then forcing qualified plans to comply with Administrative Simplification requirements, provides the government and health industry with power they would not be able to exercise in a free market … Bottom line: Americans should be able to contract privately with the insurance companies of their choice. Patients s hould be able to decide whether to have electronic or paper medical records, and not have the government require electronic records, which are then included in a nationally linked database.” (Sue Blevins & Robin Kaigh, Op-Ed, "Senate Health Care Bill: The Five Paragraphs You Must Read," The Christian Science Monitor, 11/23/09)

• And Also Creates New Rules For Data Collection And Loosens Privacy Rights. “Administrative Simplification rules are being expanded to gather real-time financial and health data on individuals through a tracking ID, possibly a ‘machine readable’ ID card (electronic device). Bottom line: Moving forward with real-time data collection without an ethical patient consent provision means everyone loses their health-privacy rights. Congress needs to enact strong patient consent provisions for all health data, especially data collected ‘real-time.’” (Sue Blevins & Robin Kaigh, Op-Ed, "Senate Health Care Bill: The Five Paragraphs You Must Read," The Christian Science Monitor, 11/23/09)

Senate Dems’ Health Care Bill Also Allows Government To Research Personal Health Information Without Consent. “Sec. 6301. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.... (f) Building Data for Research... Translation: Your personal health information may soon be studied by government scientists. Washington is creating a new research center that plans to use patients' electronic health records... Bottom line: Federal funds should not be used to collect data electronically and conduct research on patients' personal health information without their consent.” (Sue Blevins & Robin Kaigh, Op-Ed, "Senate Health Care Bill: The Five Paragraphs You Must Read," The Christian Science Monitor, 11/23/09)

LOSE THEIR FREEDOM TO CHOSE MEDICAL TREATMENTS …

Obama’s Government-Run Health Experiment Will Ration Care. “Although administration officials are eager to deny it, rationing health care is central to President Barack Obama’s health plan. The Obama strategy is to reduce health costs by rationing the services that we and future generations of patients will receive.” (Martin Feldstein, Op-Ed, “Obamacare Is All About Rationing,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/19/09)

Democrat Plans For “Comparative Effectiveness Research” Leads To Government Boards Deciding What Treatments Would Or Wouldn't Be Funded. “Skeptics, however, say Obama's decision to invest heavily in such research will lead to European-style rationing in which patients are denied lifesaving therapies to save money. It also has alarmed some drug companies and medical device manufacturers, which fear that a system of winners and losers is bound to reduce their bottom lines.” (Ceci Connolly, "Comparison Shopping For Medicine," The Washington Post, 3/17/09)

LOSE THEIR FREEDOM TO SPEND THEIR HEALTH CARE DOLLARS AS THEY SEE FIT …

Obama's Insurance Regulations Could Force Americans To Lose Their Plans With Health Savings Accounts And Switch To More Expensive, Less Flexible Plans. “Hundreds of companies now offer Health Savings Accounts to about 5 million employees ... The bills seriously endanger the trend toward consumer-driven care in general. By requiring minimum packages, they would prevent patients from choosing stripped-down plans that cover only major medical expenses. 'The government could set extremely low deductibles that would eliminate HSAs,' says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis ...” (Shawn Tully, "5 Freedoms You'll Lose In Health Care Reform," Fortune, 7/24/09)

Even Though Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Help Consumers, Businesses Save Money. “A consumer-directed health plan is an insurance coverage with a high deductible that is typically combined with a health-savings account, the tax-advantaged product that is either funded by the employer or by regular contributions from employees. Enrollees use the accounts to pay for qualified health expenses before they reach the deductible. ... According to a recently released study of health care claims for members in Aetna's HealthFund consumer-directed plan, employers who offered health savings or reimbursement plans saved $21 million per 10,000 members over a five-year period. Employers who offered the plans as an option experienced savings of $7 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period, according to the company's survey.” (Greg Bordonaro, "Consumer-Directed Health Plans Gain," Hartford Business, 7/6/09)

• HSAs “Are One Of The Answers To Reducing Health Care Costs.” “Proponents of consumer-directed plans say they are one of the answers to reducing health care costs in the United States. Since consumers have a high deductible, it gives them the financial incentive to eliminate unnecessary care and seek lower-cost, higher-quality treatments. To help them make financially and medically sound decisions, Logan said insurers provide online tools to members that allow them to compare prices for prescription drugs or get estimated costs for treatment options.” (Greg Bordonaro, "Consumer-Directed Health Plans Gain," Hartford Business, 7/6/09)

AND LOSE THEIR FREEDOM TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR INSURANCE COVERAGE

Dems Make Americans Purchase Government-Approved Insurance And “Makes Them Criminals If They Don't Buy It.” “Democracy for America, the successor to the Dean campaign, which is now run by his brother, is out today with an email attacking health care legislation on a vulnerable point: The individual mandate. ... ‘[T]hey say that even without a public option, the bill still “covers” 30 million more Americans. [The bill] requires every single American buy health insurance or break the law and face penalties and fines. So, the bill doesn't actually “cover” 30 million more Americans - instead it makes them criminals if they don't buy insurance from the same companies that got us into this mess.’” (Ben Smith, "Dean Group Attacks Mandate," Politico's "Live Pulse" Blog, 12/16/09)

Which Could Be Challenged In Court As Unconstitutional. “A major component of the health bills grinding through Congress right now is a new requirement that nearly everyone buy health insurance -- a so-called individual mandate. ... A legal battle could end up in the Supreme Court. Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett is already gearing up for that. He maintains Congress would be overstepping its powers enumerated in the Constitution if it required people to buy health insurance. ‘Never in the history of the United States has the federal government ever required someone to engage in an economic activity with a private party ...’” (David Welna, "Opponents Threaten Court Battle On Health Mandate," NPR, 1/18/10)