There are many things to be worried about it when it comes to the health care proposal that is being debated currently, but I think the most disconcerting of all is that amount of control this bill grants the government over our lives. I can hear you naysayers now saying “Man, this is the conspiracy theory rants all over again”, but let me break down some of the provisions of the health care bill and let you make up your own mind.
Control of Private Citizens
Sec. 1401, Pg. 503 – Comparative Effectiveness Research
(3) POWERS-
`(A) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA- The Center may secure directly from any department or agency of the United States information necessary to enable it to carry out this section. Upon request of the Center, the head of that department or agency shall furnish that information to the Center on an agreed upon schedule.
`(B) DATA COLLECTION- In order to carry out its functions, the Center shall--
`(i) utilize existing information, both published and unpublished, where possible, collected and assessed either by its own staff or under other arrangements made in accordance with this section,
Notice the important parts here, “may secure directly from any department or agency of the United States”. There are no exclusions here, it clearly states ANY department. In addition, it goes on to state that the Center may use both published and unpublished information, again with no restrictions. You are hereby giving the government unrestricted access into your private lives, allowing them to create a data network of your most private information. No longer will you rest assured of “Doctor/Patient confidentiality”, the government will have access to all.
Sec. 1711, Pg. 764 – Required Coverage of Preventative Services
`(z) Preventive Services- The preventive services described in this subsection are services not otherwise described in subsection (a) or (r) that the Secretary determines are--
`(1)(A) recommended with a grade of A or B by the Task Force for Clinical Preventive Services; or
`(B) vaccines recommended for use as appropriate by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and
`(2) appropriate for individuals entitled to medical assistance under this title.'.
Here, the bill states, that if a preventive service recommended by a grade of A or B, or vaccines determined appropriate by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), then they will be given to those entitled to medical assistance. You worried about Swine Flu? With this section, you need not worry, cause you will have forced immunization regardless of if you want it or not.
Sec. 1801, Pg. 828-832 - Disclosures to Facilitate Identification of Individuals likely to be ineligible for low-income assistance
(a) In General- Paragraph (19) of section 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
`(19) DISCLOSURES TO FACILITATE IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS LIKELY TO BE INELIGIBLE FOR LOW-INCOME SUBSIDIES UNDER MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM TO ASSIST SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S OUTREACH TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Upon written request from the Commissioner of Social Security, the following return information (including such information disclosed to the Social Security Administration under paragraph (1) or (5)) shall be disclosed to officers and employees of the Social Security Administration, with respect to any taxpayer identified by the Commissioner of Social Security--
`(i) return information for the applicable year from returns with respect to wages (as defined in section 3121(a) or 3401(a)) and payments of retirement income (as described in paragraph (1) of this subsection),
`(ii) unearned income information and income information of the taxpayer from partnerships, trusts, estates, and subchapter S corporations for the applicable year,
`(iii) if the individual filed an income tax return for the applicable year, the filing status, number of dependents, income from farming, and income from self-employment, on such return,
`(iv) if the individual is a married individual filing a separate return for the applicable year, the social security number (if reasonably available) of the spouse on such return,
`(v) if the individual files a joint return for the applicable year, the social security number, unearned income information, and income information from partnerships, trusts, estates, and subchapter S corporations of the individual's spouse on such return, and
`(vi) such other return information relating to the individual (or the individual's spouse in the case of a joint return) as is prescribed by the Secretary by regulation as might indicate that the individual is likely to be ineligible for a low-income prescription drug subsidy under section 1860D-14 of the Social Security Act.
This one is hard to read, I know, but this bill amends the IRS code to allow access to your personal financial information, and if you file jointly, that of your spouse to determine where you fall on the eligibility scale. This includes not only wages, but also monies from trusts and partnerships that your family may be involved.
Sec. 440, Pg. 843-844 – Home visitation program for families with young children and families expecting children.
This is a pretty big section that goes into Sec. 1904, Pg. 843-844, so I will spare you the full section, but pay special attention to this:
`(v) provide parents with--
`(I) knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains (including knowledge of second language acquisition, in the case of English language learners);
`(II) knowledge of realistic expectations of age-appropriate child behaviors;
`(III) knowledge of health and wellness issues for children and parents;
`(IV) modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices;
`(V) skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development;
`(VI) skills to recognize and seek help for issues related to health, developmental delays, and social, emotional, and behavioral skills; and
`(VII) activities designed to help parents become full partners in the education of their children;
I guess it’s only right. The government does know what’s better for us and our children than we do, right? Well this bill says yes. Notice that this section allows for visitation to provide parents “modeling, consulting, and coaching on parental practices” as well as providing" knowledge of realistic expectations of age-appropriate child behaviors”. So a stranger gets to come into your home and lecture to you about what is realistic for you to expect from your child? A person that knows nothing about your family, morals, or way of life? Yeah, and this system has work so well in the foster care arena. While I’m not a parent, I think I would have grave problems with anyone telling me what I should expect from my child, much less some government drone that meets with 100 families a week.
Sec 2521, Pg. 1000 – National Medical Device Registry
`(g)(1) The Secretary shall establish a national medical device registry (in this subsection referred to as the `registry') to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that--
`(A) is or has been used in or on a patient; and
`(B) is--
`(i) a class III device; or
`(ii) a class II device that is implantable, life-supporting, or life-sustaining.
Again, another very long section, but as titled above, if you have a medical device used, or implanted, in your person, that device (you!) will be tracked by this national registry. They state that the purpose of this clause is to examine, and track, the outcome of such devices in patient wellness. However, how will they be able to determine the effect unless they know how you lived with the device? Will your moves, lifestyle, and choices all be recorded for the “purpose of outcome evaluation?” Even if you had a device implanted before enactment of the bill, subsection 4, line (A)(i) would require manufactures of said devices to submit information to the registry, if deemed necessary by the Secretary. Again, a very scary proposition knowing the government, by virtue of caring for you, now has the ability (mandate?) to track your life thereafter and that the value of your choices may impact the next citizen needing such device.
First, by no means am I a lawyer, which you most certainly need to be to really be able to understand the provisions of this bill, but I have picked out the sections of the bill that seemed most easy to understand. That being said, this is by no means a full accounting of the privacy and control issues that exist with this disastrous legislation, but hopefully, it’s enough to open your eyes and start asking questions.
** Note: I did not even start getting into the limitations and restrictions that this bill would put on our Doctors and Nurses. I felt that this post was getting far too long, but rest assured, if passed, the medical profession would cease to be the sought after career it once was due to the suffocating control imposed upon it by our government. If interested, I will dig into it, but not until. That said, stay tuned in next few days when I look into other claims of this so-called “health reform act”.
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