Government Health Plans Always Ration Care (something the Rats always fail to mention)

wall street journal ^ | 6/24/2009 | SCOTT GOTTLIEB

[tobyhill]

Only by expanding government control of health care can we bring down its cost. That's the faulty premise of the various proposals for health reform now being batted around Washington. The claimed cost control depends on politically safe ideas such as preventive care or the adoption of electronic health records. And neither -- even according to the Congressional Budget Office -- will do much to reduce spending.

If these proposals are implemented and fail to produce savings, government will turn to a less appealing but more familiar tool to cut costs: the regulation of access to drugs and medical services. Medicare is already going down this path. What will be new about government-run health care is the instrument of regulatory control. There will be an omnipotent federal health board. Buried in current reform proposals, this board deserves closer scrutiny.

Our best look at this construct comes from a bill released by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The bill calls for a "Medical Advisory Council" to determine what medical products and services are "essential benefits" and those that shouldn't be covered by a public insurance plan.

The Senate Finance Committee turns to a "Federal Health Board" to compare similar medical treatments in order to steer reimbursement to lower-cost options. Senate Finance also proposes a "sustainability commission" charged with finding automatic cuts to Medicare spending that would then pass Congress by a simple up or down vote.

Meanwhile, a draft health-care reform proposal introduced last week in the House of Representatives by the three committees with jurisdiction over health policy set up an independent "advisory committee" that will "recommend a benefit package based on standards set in the law." It also proposes a new "commission" that may, among other things, help develop treatment protocols based on government-directed research.

[TexasFreeper2009]

Actually, they mention it almost every time they talk about how they are going to pay for it. They usually say something like much of the plan will be paid for by eliminating needless tests and treatments...

I guess they are hoping most people wont figure out that means some bureaucrat in Washington and not their doctor will be deciding what test and treatments they can receive. Which is RATIONING.

[VA40]

They need to set up government hospitals in the major cities for all the illegals and just ration the crap out of their care! Leave the rest of us alone.

[MarMema]

What they need to do is dump Medicare. Like it or not we already are under the feds in areas like pricing and "rationing", already under mostly socialized medicine. This is because private healthcare is forced to do things much the way Medicare does.

In some ways I welcome an overhaul, though I seriously doubt it can be a good one.

[LALALAW]

Here, here. Kill Medicare. It is evil and corrupting. It completely distorts the market. It’s unconstitutional. What’s worse is it robs people of personal freedom and makes fools believe that big government is good.

[MarMema]

What is even more frightening is to really understand what has happened in medicine in the last decade. Soros and his cronies have made tremendous progress, particularly in the ivory towers. Michelle Malkin says a Soros understudy is helping to fund the movement for socialized medicine in this country.

Many years ago Soros had a website up for his movement to kill those who cost too much money to keep alive. I did extensive research from the site and he was funding, among other things, a hospice program for children with leukemia. It consisted of sending children in need of healthcare to a place with lots of colors and toys to die. I was physically ill after reading about it.

Anyway it is a frightening time. May God be with us all.

[Salvation]

Tell the Congress critters and Obama NOT to pass Obamacare.

U. S. Senate

U. S. House of Representatives