Posted on 02/12/2009 4:54:57 PM PST by PhiKapMom
Dr. Coburn Says Conferees Should Postpone Stimulus Vote to Correct Health Care Provisions
House version would create a government formula, board to ration care
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), a practicing physician, released the following statement today regarding ongoing negotiations between House and Senate over controversial and complex health care provisions in the stimulus bill.
“The health care provisions in the House stimulus bill represent ideological and partisan overreach of epic proportions. It is ludicrous to ask a body that can’t track its own spending to determine which medical treatments are best for individual patients suffering from complex diseases. The only reason to fund this project now is to lay the groundwork for establishing a government board that will be empowered to make life and death medical decisions about health care treatments and cost,” Dr. Coburn said.
Dr. Coburn explained that both the House and Senate version of the stimulus bill include $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research. Unfortunately, the House language overreaches by permitting the use of that money to make coverage decisions based on cost to the federal government.
“The practice of medicine is about 40 percent art and 60 percent science. A so-called ‘comparative effectiveness’ formula will replace the professional judgment of doctors and nurses, which is developed over many years, with the political judgments of politicians and bureaucrats. A comparative effectiveness formula will only save money by rationing care and ending lives. Congress is on the verge of enacting the same policy that Great Britain has used to decide, for example, that extending a patient’s life for a year isn’t worth more than $45,000,” Dr. Coburn said.
“Trusting the government to ration care will take away choices and life-saving treatments from sick patients and deny families more time with their loved ones. Doctors and patients should be making decisions based on individual patient conditions and needs. Allowing government to make these decisions would set us on a dangerous path. The unelected staff and career politicians who are negotiating these details have almost zero real world experience in the health care sector. Congress should confess its limited capabilities in this area and debate this issue in the open, not rush through massive policy changes in secret,” Dr. Coburn said.
###
FYI!
“Corrected”? They should be thrown out.
This time instead of being private sector folk who can be sued for damages they'll be turned into federal officials with sovereign immunity.
Not a snowball’s chance that this will stop the train [wreck]. Sadly.
Thats the only thing he wants to take out??
We just need an amendment to make Congress the test subjects for these health care proposals.
Imagine the lady who mans the desk at Motor Vehicle determining your course of treatment.
Seriously, the worst part is the privacy issue - government having access to and control over all our medical records - our most private information. There should be no central repository of Americans’ medical records!!!
Not it is not but he decided to concentrate on this issue as it is getting people’s attention.
KatrinaCare coming to a hospital near you.
Pray for America, Our Troops and obama’s Guidance
BUMP!!!
A lot of good comments here, but this one is one of the biggest issues!
Read Tom Dashle’s reports on this kind of health care, it will make your hair stand on end. Phased out elderly care?
Exactly. It has grabbed the attention of people, so run with it!
They should drop the entire turkey.
He’s a psychopath with visions of mass killings.
When are ‘we the people’ going to stand up and reenact that famous scene out of “Network”??? WHEN? Do we HAVE to be prompted? Enough IS enough.
Let us pray that there will be enough doctors who will be committed enough to set up private clinics where people can pay for treatment and keep the insurance companies and the government out of it.
Good summary. And he didn’t even get into the privacy implications.
By setting up a master database that could be easily accessed, medical history problems would intrude into everyday lives in a way most Americans really can not grasp today. In theory, it sounds fine. In practice, it would be a nightmare. Think of “Minority Report” underground medical treatment.
Is this Obama’s idea of a moderate government? I would hate to see what he thinks is liberal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.