Posted on 05/22/2013 4:17:04 AM PDT by Kaslin
Who is Judy Faulkner? Chances are, you don't know her -- but her politically connected, taxpayer-subsidized electronic medical records company may very well know you. Top Obama donor and billionaire Faulkner is founder and CEO of Epic Systems, which will soon store almost half of all Americans' health information.
If the crony odor and the potential for abuse that this "epic" arrangement poses don't chill your bones, you ain't paying attention.
As I first noted last year before the IRS witch hunts and DOJ journalist snooping scandals broke out, Obama's federal electronic medical records (EMR) mandate is government malpractice at work. The stimulus law provided a whopping $19 billion in "incentives" (read: subsidies) to force hospitals and medical professionals into converting from paper to electronic record-keeping systems. Penalties kick in next year for any provider who fails to comply with the one-size-fits-all edict.
Obamacare bureaucrats claimed the government's EMR mandate would save money and modernize health care. As of December 2012, $4 billion had already gone out to 82,535 professionals and 1,474 hospitals; a total of $6 billion will be doled out by 2016. What have taxpayers and health care consumers received in return from this boondoggle? After hyping the alleged benefits for nearly a decade, the RAND Corporation finally admitted in January that its cost-savings predictions of $81 billion a year -- used repeatedly to support the Obama EMR mandate -- were, um, grossly overstated.
Among many factors, the researchers blamed "lack of interoperability" of records systems for the failure to bring down costs. And that is a funny thing, because it brings us right back to Faulkner and her well-connected company. You see, Epic Systems -- the dominant EMR giant in America -- is notorious for its lack of interoperability. Faulkner's closed-end system represents antiquated, hard drive-dependent software firms that refuse to share data with doctors and hospitals using alternative platforms. Health IT analyst John Moore of Chilmark Research, echoing many industry observers, wrote in April that Epic "will ultimately hinder health care organizations' ability to rapidly innovate."
Question: If these subsidized data-sharing systems aren't built to share data to improve health outcomes, why exactly are we subsidizing them? And what exactly are companies like Faulkner's doing with this enhanced power to consolidate and control Americans' private health information? It's a recipe for exactly the kind of abuse that's at the heart of the IRS and DOJ scandals.
As I reported previously, a little-noticed HHS Inspector General's report issued last fall exposed how no one is actually verifying whether the transition from paper to electronic is improving patient outcomes and health services. No one is actually guarding against GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). No one is checking whether recipients of the EMR incentives are receiving money redundantly (e.g., raking in payments when they've already converted to electronic records). And no one is actually protecting private data from fraud, theft or exploitation.
But while health IT experts and concerned citizens balk, money talks. Epic employees donated nearly $1 million to political parties and candidates between 1995 and 2012 -- 82 percent of it to Democrats. The company's top 10 PAC recipients are all Democratic or left-wing outfits, from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (nearly $230,000) to the DNC Services Corporation (nearly $175,000) and the America's Families First Action Fund Democratic super-PAC ($150,000). The New York Times reported in February that Epic and other large firms spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying for the Obama EMR "giveaway."
Brandon Glenn of Medical Economics observes "it's not a coincidence" that Epic's sales "have been skyrocketing in recent years, up to $1.2 billion in 2011, double what they were four years prior."
It's also no coincidence, as a famous Democratic presidential candidate once railed, that the deepest-pocketed donors "are often granted the greatest access, and access is power in Washington." That same candidate, Barack Obama, named billionaire Democratic donor Faulkner as the only industry representative on the federal panel overseeing the $19 billion EMR "incentives" program from which her company benefits grandly.
The foxes are guarding the Obamacare henhouse. The IRS vultures are circling overhead. The shadow of tyranny and the stench of corruption are unmistakable. If you see something, say something. BOLO is our watchword.
The DNC (RICO organization) will make $$$$$ by SELLING
citizens’ medical information.
And why not? There is NO more Law in the USA, only
racists in control, and al Qaeda coming in.
It sure looks like it
What could go wrong?
Exactly. ObamaCARE was designed by prisoners in jail
and NOT EVEN READ BY THE CORRUPT SENATE
.... WHICH MADE THEMSELVES AND MOSLEMS EXEMPT.
What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
In only a little more than four years we’ve gone from a government “by the people and for the people,” to a government that rewards its friends and punishes its enemies. Nice work, low-information voters!
They even look evil.
“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants.” Albert Camus
Let me guess—would it be too far fetched to connect her to voting machines, too? That would put the icing on the cake.
If the GOP House votes one nickel to finance this monstrosity, they should all be primaried next year. CUT OFF THE MONEY to every part of ObamaCare! It cannot survive without Congress shoveling taxpayer money down its maw.
Don't you realize they don't care? No one does anymore. Conservatives are sidelined for the most part, and those who are vocal are being investigated by the IRS. There are no conservative outlets for information to the low information masses. The MSM is injecting partisan politics into everything, everyday.
I'm really just waiting for the door-to-door shit to start. It's coming. You have to know it's coming.
About the only statement Obama has never lied to us about is this one.
“We will punish our enemies and reward our friends”
He told us flat out what he would do. Why is anyone surprised when he does it.
This will have a chilling effect on doctor-patient communications. Perhaps that is part of the intent - along with abusing the confidences of those foolish enough to disclose adverse information.
I guess HIPAA (Health Info Privacy Act) is just another one of those stumbling blocks to total control.
PING!
We’re making our list and checking it twice!
> They even look evil.
First thing I noticed about her too. Feinstein as well.
Outrageous.
You are so right. I am looking to find a Doctor not using the system just for this reason.
I saw the EMR’s when the bill was passed and asked my then Doctor if he would participate in the passing of my health records. That was an affirmative so I have not returned since. Is this smart, no. But, is my blood pressure, weight and cholesterol the business of the federal government? Hell no! And I will not be supplying any of my personal medical information to an entity that will use my health records against me just as they will use my tax records.
So, I will probably end up with heart disease, colon cancer or a stroke, but I’ll be damned if I will go quietly into that government night.
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