Bob McCarty Writes

Tragically, writes Betsy McCaughey in an opinion piece published by Bloomberg yesterday, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped into the so-called “economic stimulus package” without discussion.

Betsy McCaughey

And that opinion piece by McCaughey, former New York lieutenant governor and current adjunct senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, has the nation buzzing with concern over the future of the nation’s health care system.

Here’s a sample of her concerns that have generated so much interest:

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.

President Obama and members of the Democrat-controlled Congress — and even a handful of Republican senators — are trying to turn our health care system into a substandard one on par with Great Britain and Canada.  We can’t let that happen!

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS — as well as turncoat Republican Sens. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine — and demand they defeat this pork-laden measure immediately.  Threaten them with your vote.  Say whatever it takes to convince them that the socialized, or nationalized, medicine is something we don’t want.

The turncoat senators can be reached at the following phone numbers:

Sen. Susan Collins (202) 224-2523;
Sen. Olympia Snowe (202) 224-5344; and
Sen. Arlen Specter (202) 224-4254

Don’t wait!  Act now!

Turncoat photos above courtesy Doug Ross @ Journal

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See also: Obama healthcare plan would shut down private sector