Research Briefing

Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Experiment Concentrates Power In Washington, Limiting The Freedom Of The American People

“Promising To ‘Do Everything In My Power’ To Get Congress To Pass Health Care Legislation Within The Next Few Weeks, Obama Will Talk Up Health Care Monday In The Philadelphia Area…” (Carol E. Lee, “W.H. Sees Reform Homestretch,” Politico, 3/4/10)

OBAMA WILL PITCH HIS GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT IN LIBERTY’S BIRTHPLACE EVEN THOUGH IT…

 FORCES AMERICANS TO BUY GOVERNMENT-APPROVED INSURANCE OR FACE CRIMINAL PENALTIES …

Obama Endorsed Senate Democrats’ Health Care Bill That Make Americans Purchase Government-Approved Insurance Without Controlling Costs. “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 Unconstitutional, And Eventually Challenged In Court. “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)

TAKES AWAY THE FREEDOM OF DOCTORS AND PATIENTS TO MAKE MEDICAL DECISIONS …

Obama’s 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)

• Just As They Do In Britain, Where Government Boards Decide What Treatments Would Or Wouldn't Be Funded. “The British officials who established NICE in the late 1990s pitched it as a body that would ensure that the government-run National Health System used ‘best practices’ in medicine. As the Guardian reported in 1998: ‘Health ministers are setting up [NICE], designed to ensure that every treatment, operation, or medicine used is the proven best. It will root out under-performing doctors and useless treatments, spreading best practices everywhere.’ What NICE has become in practice is a rationing board.” (Editorial, "Of NICE And Men," The Wall Street Journal, 7/7/09)

Obama Proposes “Independent Medicare Advisory Commission” (IMAC) With Broad Authority To “Improve The Efficiency” Of Medicare. “In addition to making annual Medicare payment recommendations, the Council would have the authority to recommend broader Medicare reforms … The bill would require that the package of recommendations for Medicare reforms also be designed in such a manner that their implementation would not result in any increase in the aggregate level of net expenditures under the Medicare program compared to the aggregate level that would have occurred absent such implementation; and … improve the efficiency of the Medicare program’s operation.” (Peter Orszag, OMB Director, “Sectional Analysis Of IMAC Draft Legislation,” Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 7/17/09)

• Giving New Bureaucrats Increased Ability To Deny Treatments In Medicare. “President Obama has proposed a new body that would enhance Medicare’s ability to deny care to the elderly and disabled based on government bureaucrats’ arbitrary valuations of those patients’ lives. It is right there in the legislation now before Congress, and it is called the Independent Medicare Advisory Council.” (Michael F. Cannon, Op-Ed, “Sorry Folks, Sarah Palin Is (Partly) Right,” The Detroit Free-Press, 8/19/09)

INFRINGES ON AMERICANS’ PRIVACY

Senate Health Bill Section 1104 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. Administrative Simplification rules are a product of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. They lay the foundation for a nationally linked database of personal health information. A federal ‘Nationwide Health Information Network’ (NHIN) is well under way in the United States, without assurances that individuals will control their personal health data…. Bottom line: Americans should be able to contract privately with the insurance companies of their choice. Patients should 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)

• 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)

Section 6301 Allows The Government To Grow And 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)

• Doesn’t Protect A Patient Health Privacy. “Think your health privacy is protected? It's not. This language refers to ‘applicable confidentiality and privacy standards,’ but HIPAA's so-called privacy law permits individuals' personal health information to be exchanged – for many broad purposes – without patients' consent… Bottom line … Congress needs to pass a strong, ethical patient consent law that ensures patients have control over the flow of their personal health information.” (Sue Blevins & Robin Kaigh, Op Ed, “Senate Health Care Bill: The Five Paragraphs You Must Read,” The Christian Science Monitor, 11/23/09)

REDUCES ECONOMIC FREEDOM WITH PUNITIVE TAXES

Obama’s Medicare Payroll Tax Hike Would Hit Many Small Business Owners. “The legislation would be paid for through a ... a payroll tax on the wealthy ...”; “In a 2007 survey, the National Federation of Independent Business found that about 15 percent of small-business owners -- and half of those with at least 20 employees -- said they expected their household income to exceed $200,000.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Tempers Flare As Senate Debates Health Care,” The Associated Press, 12/2/09; Lori Montgomery and V. Dion Hayes, “Small Businesses Brace For Tax Battle,” The Washington Post, 4/27/09)

Obama’s Tax On Health Insurance Would Hit Small Business Hardest. “Small employers would also probably be hit by the taxes ... small businesses tend to pay more for their insurance than bigger employers that can negotiate better premiums ... About 14 percent of small employers, counted as those with fewer than 500 workers, now offer policies that would be subject to the excise tax ... ‘That is a very heavy hammer on the cost of your premiums,’ said Donna Marshall, the executive director of the Colorado Business Group on Health ... ‘You don’t want to cause a chilling effect on the employers who are trying to do the right thing.’“ (Reed Abelson, “A Proposed Tax On The Cadillac Insurance Plans May Also Hit The Chevys,” The New York Times, 9/20/09)

AND RESTRICTS THE FREEDOM OF AMERICANS TO USE HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS AND MAKE MORE OF THEIR OWN HEALTH DECISIONS

Obama’s Insurance Regulations Could Force Americans, Their Employers To Switch From HSAs To More Expensive, Less Flexible Government-Run Plan. “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)

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Help 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)

WHICH IS WHY PENNSYLVANIAN’S HAVE REJECTED THIS POWER GRAB

Philadelphians “Booed Loudly” Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) And HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius At A Town-Hall Meeting Last Year. “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) got booed loudly at a town-hall meeting in Philadelphia over the weekend while talking health care. An audience member asked how the public can trust lawmakers to overhaul the health care system if those lawmakers don't actually the read health care legislation before them. Other audience members cheered the question...Sebelius said she's never been a member of Congress, and got booed heartily. Specter explained, over raucous boos, that in reading 1,000+ page legislation, quick decision must be made, and he splits up the bill with his staff, though every bill is read and understood before he votes on it. Exasperated, Sebelius told the audience that the bill hasn't been written yet, so they shouldn't boo Specter for not having read it.” (Chris Good, “Recess Watch: Specter And Sebelius Booed Loudly At Philly Townhall,” The Atlantic’s “Politics” Blog, 8/3/09)

Chris Borick, Political Science Professor, Muhlenberg College: “People Are Not Buying Into The Proposal That The President Has Been Pushing...” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)

Only 25% Of Pennsylvanians Support The Obama-Reid-Pelosi Government-Run Takeover Bills. “As President Barack Obama prepares to unveil his plans to move forward with health care Monday, a survey of Pennsylvanians found that most do not want the leading bills to become law without changes. … One in four continue to support the current bills…” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)

• “Instead, 60 Percent Of Adults Statewide Said, Obama And His Fellow Democrats In Congress Should Suspend Work On Those Bills And Consider Alternatives.” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)

• “Pennsylvanians Do Not Want The Government To Require Every Citizen To Have Health Care.” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)

• “Most Pennsylvanians Polled -- 72 Percent -- Said Tort Reform Should Or Must Be Included In Any Final Law.” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)

Obama’s Approval Rating On Health Care Dropped 15 Points, GOP’s Increased 13 Points Over A Three Month Period. “More Pennsylvanians now disapprove of how Obama is handling health care than they did three months ago -- the poll showed a 15-point spike from 38 percent disapproval in November to 53 percent in February. The number of people who approve of how Republicans are handling health care jumped 13 points in the same period…” (Colby Itkowitz, “No Easy Cure,” The Morning Call, 2/21/10)