With the ongoing challenges which are now being raised in many states throughout the nation regarding the recent passage of the Obama Administration's Health Care Reform Act, this boomer has watched the progression in health care delivery from the 1960's to today, and can truthfully say that while costs have exploded in those four decades, the degree of care for the American public overall has seen better days.
In order to reduce costs for many of the public and private health care clinics and hospitals, more and more Americans are not receiving the care they deserve, but what will reduce the bottom lines for the nationalized corporatized health care system that is predominant across the nation after Nixon's HMO legislation passed in the 60's. Many even public clinics and hospitals are now "owned" through various contracts by "private" corporate entities as they have become privatized, even after their initial building costs and research grants were funded by the American public.
Upon even emergency room visits, more and more patients are being seen initially by not medical doctors or those with advanced diagnostic degrees, but by physician's assistants or other support staff but at costs that far exceed those fees and charges in the past for trained physicians and without the expertise to accurately diagnose complex medical conditions.
Throughout many states, there are even signs posted at many of these emergency clinics and hospitals advising that they are not accepting new Medicare patients. Thus, the future for the boomers and their offspring at this point in America's history has not even begun to be addressed by those in Washington or at the state levels in just why health care costs have risen so out of proportion to the cost of living even though the entire HMO concept and "free market" privatized clinics were sold to the public in order to reduce costs and provide better care when that legislation was proposed back in the 60's.
Instead, it has resulted in numerous trips to several different doctors or providers in order to get accurate diagnosis, or physicians more geared toward treating the symptoms rather than the disease and using medications which many times create even more problems or different health issues in concert due to drug interactions and complications.
Changes are needed, but not the changes that Washington appears to be focused on in merely consulting the "stakeholders" in corporatized medicine. But the American public that is paying a larger share than ever before for their health care costs, both nonemergency and emergency.
How much of the health care dollars now provided by the taxpayers and insurers are now being earmarked for all those ads on television mostly directed toward choosing a hospital for maternity and childbirth needs? Or elective procedures?
Or advertising their facilities and services for non-English speaking patients for all those federal and state grant monies in providing care for non-citizens at the general public's ultimate expense? Or the increased costs in those ten to twenty page bills passed on to the public for those highly paid lobbyists at the state capitols and Washington?
It appears to this boomer in the end, the Health Care Reform Act is more similar to the mandatory auto insurance laws throughout the nation, with the same mindset and ultimate costs in increased taxation for all in passing on governmental functions, such as the settlement of property claims, or life and death issues to the financial sector, banks and insurers who will be more concerned with THEIR bottom lines and business needs, rather than quality of care.
I mean, unlike mandatory auto insurance, an unpaid or disallowed claim has a greater likelihood and much higher percentage of eventually ending in death or bankruptcy rather than a fender bender so the analogy used in order to include that "mandatory" provision left much out in regulating both those costs, and the provision and most likely will also then, as with the insurance laws, end up again costing the taxpaying public more in providing all the courts that will be needed in order to address those "breach of contract" or "wrongful death" actions.
Progress in this area, as with it appears so many others in the new millineum to many Americans, just may come at a much greater cost than even in those Nixon years.
And it appears to this boomer that the great Health Care Reform Act just may become the precursor to the Great Health Care AND Bank bailout of 2025 or sooner, when this patient dies.
Showing posts with label medical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical. Show all posts
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Medical Marijuana Laws New Stimulus For States, Tech Industries?
As another example of what appears to be a good idea and Constitutional, and yet approached and legislated in the "wrong" manner, the perfect example it now appears is the "legalization" of medical marijuana in quite a few states throughout the nation.
How so?
In an article published by the AP, it appears the State of Colorado is formulating legislation in order to "track" users and purchasers, using high tech gadgetry and video surveillance at the "points of purchase" in the state requiring these rather small businesses and clinics eventually to be mandated to purchsae, I'm sure, these gadgets and the software to hook them up to state databases.
It is being announced and publicized as in the interests of preventing large scale "black market" distribution of medical grade marijuana, although at the prices that most of these clinics are charging for these prescriptions, I'm sure the street variety will still have a much larger share of the market than the "purer" grade.
Until, of course, the companies manufacturing those joints decides to increase their profit margins, and starts using additives in those joints also to perhaps make a "drug" that is questionably addictive even more so.
Instead of merely rescinding and readdressing the laws which have banned the sale of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes and left it at that, and focused on increasing the penalties for large scale distribution on the street, this also appears aimed toward eventually another national or global entity cornering the market on distribution "rights" in many of the states, edging out the small businesses once again mostly owned by holistic physicians or solo MDs.
And there is already in place in most states throughout the nation tracking on prescriptions written by doctors for Class III drugs, and medical marijuana does take a prescription and is classified, to my knowledge, as a Class III drug.
So why isn't there a move to put such cameras in all pharmacies also throughout the nation? Or perhaps that is also already in the works, since there does seem to be more illegal activity regarding some of those "advertised" Class III drugs, anti-depressants, pain killers and the like by those large pharma companies and those inhibitors in those three minute ads on mainstream television every night during prime time.
Increasing penalties on pot in sales to juveniles and large scale operations which are moving imported and exported drugs globally and nationally appears again what may be needed here, but then I am only a mere citizen who can see where this all is eventually leading, and soon that marijuana needed for those whom are deriving health benefits will be $100.00 a joint, plus tax.
And consist of street quality pot, with three minute disclosure commercials "disclosing" all the chemical addictives that most likely will result in a major lawsuit for some patient that has an allergic reaction or develops lung cancer due to the additives in the paper or something else less than 20 years down the road.
Colorado is not the only state, it appears, that is jumping on the commercial marijuana bandwagon for the "jobs and the economies" of those that see bucks in the misfortune of others, however.
And as the prices begin to soar into the stratosphere due to such an agenda, the major drug traffickers, street vendors and black market cross borders importers are licking their lips.
Since such an attempt by the states to micromanage and monitor sales, by feeding another industry and the state itself off those whose numerous medical conditions and its symptoms truly are alleviated by medicinal or recreational use, or the small businesses who are now able to operate in many areas of local communities where such clinics are needed, will end up making them a bundle and increase the demand.
Those in poor health may not be working and already collecting social service benefits, and do need to cut costs whereever they can on prescriptions and extraneous expenses, and $100 joint will make the street value all the more attractive once again, unless the Medicaid supplements also will be increasing accordingly.
I'm sure those rolling paper manufacturers are also delighted.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20100929/539e95cc-2d90-4667-be4a-fcb7f550d820
How so?
In an article published by the AP, it appears the State of Colorado is formulating legislation in order to "track" users and purchasers, using high tech gadgetry and video surveillance at the "points of purchase" in the state requiring these rather small businesses and clinics eventually to be mandated to purchsae, I'm sure, these gadgets and the software to hook them up to state databases.
It is being announced and publicized as in the interests of preventing large scale "black market" distribution of medical grade marijuana, although at the prices that most of these clinics are charging for these prescriptions, I'm sure the street variety will still have a much larger share of the market than the "purer" grade.
Until, of course, the companies manufacturing those joints decides to increase their profit margins, and starts using additives in those joints also to perhaps make a "drug" that is questionably addictive even more so.
Instead of merely rescinding and readdressing the laws which have banned the sale of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes and left it at that, and focused on increasing the penalties for large scale distribution on the street, this also appears aimed toward eventually another national or global entity cornering the market on distribution "rights" in many of the states, edging out the small businesses once again mostly owned by holistic physicians or solo MDs.
And there is already in place in most states throughout the nation tracking on prescriptions written by doctors for Class III drugs, and medical marijuana does take a prescription and is classified, to my knowledge, as a Class III drug.
So why isn't there a move to put such cameras in all pharmacies also throughout the nation? Or perhaps that is also already in the works, since there does seem to be more illegal activity regarding some of those "advertised" Class III drugs, anti-depressants, pain killers and the like by those large pharma companies and those inhibitors in those three minute ads on mainstream television every night during prime time.
Increasing penalties on pot in sales to juveniles and large scale operations which are moving imported and exported drugs globally and nationally appears again what may be needed here, but then I am only a mere citizen who can see where this all is eventually leading, and soon that marijuana needed for those whom are deriving health benefits will be $100.00 a joint, plus tax.
And consist of street quality pot, with three minute disclosure commercials "disclosing" all the chemical addictives that most likely will result in a major lawsuit for some patient that has an allergic reaction or develops lung cancer due to the additives in the paper or something else less than 20 years down the road.
Colorado is not the only state, it appears, that is jumping on the commercial marijuana bandwagon for the "jobs and the economies" of those that see bucks in the misfortune of others, however.
And as the prices begin to soar into the stratosphere due to such an agenda, the major drug traffickers, street vendors and black market cross borders importers are licking their lips.
Since such an attempt by the states to micromanage and monitor sales, by feeding another industry and the state itself off those whose numerous medical conditions and its symptoms truly are alleviated by medicinal or recreational use, or the small businesses who are now able to operate in many areas of local communities where such clinics are needed, will end up making them a bundle and increase the demand.
Those in poor health may not be working and already collecting social service benefits, and do need to cut costs whereever they can on prescriptions and extraneous expenses, and $100 joint will make the street value all the more attractive once again, unless the Medicaid supplements also will be increasing accordingly.
I'm sure those rolling paper manufacturers are also delighted.
http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20100929/539e95cc-2d90-4667-be4a-fcb7f550d820
Friday, March 19, 2010
Ms. Pelosi: Stop Preaching And Do Your Job
On network news again this morning, the erstwhile Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi, was hogging the media in order to once again preach to the American public about the health care deform legislation that she and her political party are backing which is clearly simply another nonconsensual backdoor tax on the American people in its current form.
Especially by continuing to include those "mandatory" provisions, and fees and fines and extortion if those in this country who cannot afford it at its current levels, or even due to the fact that so many are now jobless and homeless by this and the prior Administration's industry favoring legislation, be able to afford it at any level.
No recognition or media coverage has pointed out the fact that all Americans are and have been actually supporting the health care and medical community for decades with their tax dollars, yet upon any treatment getting little, if any, recognition of all those publicly funded grants at the state, local and federal level that most of them receive since Nixon's "corportization" of the health care sector way back when.
Including even zoning and building fees and costs for a great many of those massive global and national hospitals and health care networks.
Better yet, Ms. Pelosi, how about you and those other 434 rogue Congressmen start actually doing your jobs, and change the focus to where it Constitutionally and truly belongs.
Regulating most of those national and global health care vipers sufficiently, and rescinding that bogus Act of Congress that was passed actually also precluding the states from so doing as a power move and play for those on the Hill and their corporate backers post Nixon?
3/4's of these health care providers, hospitals, and teaching institutions receive federal and state grant monies at the public's expense, yet Americans are forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars per year (and their unaffiliated employers) to carry this industry. Most of those hospitals and medical providers refuse to even give "good faith" estimates prior to treatment for non-emergency measures to begin with.
And a good many of them overcharge so that their take of the Medicare proceeds continues to escalate, rather than bearing any relationship whatsoever nationwide in the true cost of health care in this country.
Especially since many of those doctors now are also getting federal grant monies for their educations, or we are now outsourcing more and more to doctors who either are not Americans (such as the great many East Indian doctors now practicing in this country) or were educated free of charge at some of America's foremost medical colleges and universities.
With all the money going to medical research now also, are the costs of development of those new procedures and high tech gadgetry also being credited to the American public who paid for most of those procedures development?
The entire focus of this legislation is a**backward, in my and a great many Americans opinions, and Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Obama's posturing appears to now be "preaching to the choir," and a "choir" that is, from the tone throughout the country on this legislation progressively getting more and more outraged, and about to bring out those nooses.
Maybe also it would be nice if these press conferences would stop, and members start scrutinizing more and more of the past legislation that has lead to the "crisis" we are now facing.
Like bailing out all these industries at the public's expense, while the public then is raped on the personal level further when they engage their services (such as the increases now in bank fees and charges that are occurring nationwide, and 'creative" lending policies of those banks for mortgages getting even more outrageous - since a great many of those original loans in the West and Southwest for refinances or new home purchses weren't even based on the U.S. currency, but the British LIBOR rates).
Or the progressively lawyer industry favoring laws which have enriched a great many of the members of the Bar in the removal of punitive damage lids throughout the nation on medical malpractice claims and those even legitimate losses, and then costs for all those lawyers now employed by the health care sector that are also paid with those premium dollars in that totally unregulated industry which is actually simply another branch of the government itself - since all lawyers are inherently members of the judicial branch and have a monopoly also due to local court rules and regulations on it - since even what might be deemed small claims matters on some of these losses in coverages and benefits become civil and not small claims actions at higher costs.
Hogging air time to present your case isn't working on a public that has less and less trust that its representatives represent anyone other than their own self-interests.
And from most of the citizen media based websites, it does appear to me that either many Americans are unaware of just how much of their tax dollars are already going to subsidize the health care industry and sector, or are actually Canadians or Mexicans that hope that they will get in on better health care subsidized by the American people than their socialized plans in their own countries - or at least coverage then in the event they have some medical emergency while in this country for their "part time" residency status, with free health care nearby rather than having to return to their own countries for treatment.
Since, of course, a good many Canadians live in either those northern border states, or the American West and Southwest as retirees on a part time basis, or with second homes due to their better currency rates, and as then non-American taxpayers, would get that free ride for their care claiming "temporary resident" or "emergency" treatment status.
A good half the posters on most of those sites supporting this abridgement of the U.S. Constitution actually are Canadian bloggers and writers.
Which just goes to show it is appeasement once again of foreigners on the backs of Americans that is somewhat responsible for this push for this legislation, rather than at the demand of the American people at all other than the public's outrage at the escalating costs, pressuring a Congress to actually do their jobs and their "regulatory" functions on this massive industry that has gone for far too long without any regulation actually whatsoever, while being funded by and large by an American public who are watching the health care standards and even infant mortality rates decline by the year in favor of "profit" over "delivery."
Since Nixon, actually, and that entire bogus health maintenance organization concept and global corportization of the health care industry was sanctioned by that erstwhile Congress way back when, where it now takes visits to five or six doctors in order to simply get a diagnosis - that is if your "referring physician" feels it is in the corporate best interest to so do.
There are now as many levels in health care provision in this country, as there is in government.
Which has also contributed to where we are today.
Especially by continuing to include those "mandatory" provisions, and fees and fines and extortion if those in this country who cannot afford it at its current levels, or even due to the fact that so many are now jobless and homeless by this and the prior Administration's industry favoring legislation, be able to afford it at any level.
No recognition or media coverage has pointed out the fact that all Americans are and have been actually supporting the health care and medical community for decades with their tax dollars, yet upon any treatment getting little, if any, recognition of all those publicly funded grants at the state, local and federal level that most of them receive since Nixon's "corportization" of the health care sector way back when.
Including even zoning and building fees and costs for a great many of those massive global and national hospitals and health care networks.
Better yet, Ms. Pelosi, how about you and those other 434 rogue Congressmen start actually doing your jobs, and change the focus to where it Constitutionally and truly belongs.
Regulating most of those national and global health care vipers sufficiently, and rescinding that bogus Act of Congress that was passed actually also precluding the states from so doing as a power move and play for those on the Hill and their corporate backers post Nixon?
3/4's of these health care providers, hospitals, and teaching institutions receive federal and state grant monies at the public's expense, yet Americans are forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars per year (and their unaffiliated employers) to carry this industry. Most of those hospitals and medical providers refuse to even give "good faith" estimates prior to treatment for non-emergency measures to begin with.
And a good many of them overcharge so that their take of the Medicare proceeds continues to escalate, rather than bearing any relationship whatsoever nationwide in the true cost of health care in this country.
Especially since many of those doctors now are also getting federal grant monies for their educations, or we are now outsourcing more and more to doctors who either are not Americans (such as the great many East Indian doctors now practicing in this country) or were educated free of charge at some of America's foremost medical colleges and universities.
With all the money going to medical research now also, are the costs of development of those new procedures and high tech gadgetry also being credited to the American public who paid for most of those procedures development?
The entire focus of this legislation is a**backward, in my and a great many Americans opinions, and Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Obama's posturing appears to now be "preaching to the choir," and a "choir" that is, from the tone throughout the country on this legislation progressively getting more and more outraged, and about to bring out those nooses.
Maybe also it would be nice if these press conferences would stop, and members start scrutinizing more and more of the past legislation that has lead to the "crisis" we are now facing.
Like bailing out all these industries at the public's expense, while the public then is raped on the personal level further when they engage their services (such as the increases now in bank fees and charges that are occurring nationwide, and 'creative" lending policies of those banks for mortgages getting even more outrageous - since a great many of those original loans in the West and Southwest for refinances or new home purchses weren't even based on the U.S. currency, but the British LIBOR rates).
Or the progressively lawyer industry favoring laws which have enriched a great many of the members of the Bar in the removal of punitive damage lids throughout the nation on medical malpractice claims and those even legitimate losses, and then costs for all those lawyers now employed by the health care sector that are also paid with those premium dollars in that totally unregulated industry which is actually simply another branch of the government itself - since all lawyers are inherently members of the judicial branch and have a monopoly also due to local court rules and regulations on it - since even what might be deemed small claims matters on some of these losses in coverages and benefits become civil and not small claims actions at higher costs.
Hogging air time to present your case isn't working on a public that has less and less trust that its representatives represent anyone other than their own self-interests.
And from most of the citizen media based websites, it does appear to me that either many Americans are unaware of just how much of their tax dollars are already going to subsidize the health care industry and sector, or are actually Canadians or Mexicans that hope that they will get in on better health care subsidized by the American people than their socialized plans in their own countries - or at least coverage then in the event they have some medical emergency while in this country for their "part time" residency status, with free health care nearby rather than having to return to their own countries for treatment.
Since, of course, a good many Canadians live in either those northern border states, or the American West and Southwest as retirees on a part time basis, or with second homes due to their better currency rates, and as then non-American taxpayers, would get that free ride for their care claiming "temporary resident" or "emergency" treatment status.
A good half the posters on most of those sites supporting this abridgement of the U.S. Constitution actually are Canadian bloggers and writers.
Which just goes to show it is appeasement once again of foreigners on the backs of Americans that is somewhat responsible for this push for this legislation, rather than at the demand of the American people at all other than the public's outrage at the escalating costs, pressuring a Congress to actually do their jobs and their "regulatory" functions on this massive industry that has gone for far too long without any regulation actually whatsoever, while being funded by and large by an American public who are watching the health care standards and even infant mortality rates decline by the year in favor of "profit" over "delivery."
Since Nixon, actually, and that entire bogus health maintenance organization concept and global corportization of the health care industry was sanctioned by that erstwhile Congress way back when, where it now takes visits to five or six doctors in order to simply get a diagnosis - that is if your "referring physician" feels it is in the corporate best interest to so do.
There are now as many levels in health care provision in this country, as there is in government.
Which has also contributed to where we are today.
Friday, August 21, 2009
What's Not Being Disclosed On Obamacare
Interesting in all the debates now on the mainstream media that some rather pertinent facts and observations have also been kept from the public in all the brouhaha surrounding Obama's and Congress's plans for health care reform.
At the present time, there is already a socialized health care program for seniors at the federal level called Medicare. At the state levels there is also now health care plans that are funded for the indigent, those that have been denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions, dependent children of the working poor, and even illegal immigrants for emergency care services (which are used to visit hospital emergency rooms for cases of the flu, and result in six hour waits for lawful Americans in many hospitals now throughout the country).
In effect, we already have health care insurance and provision for all Americans at some level or another. There is also self-insurance for the wealthy, and those that choose to self-insure for regular doctor visits but simply carry catastrophic care.
Right now, all of these programs are funded by the citizens at either the federal or state levels, with the states then required to provide matching sums with respect to some of these programs (except the one for the illegals, which is picked up at the federal level, which is why so many of those local initiatives denying such services to the illegals are really quite ludicrous since those services and costs are federal laws, not local, and the health care industry know that).
It appears what this truly is is simply another way to centralize more and more power in Washington, increase our federal deficit then in the process for the benefit of the European bankers that rape the American people for their services in printing our currency, and Wall Street once again for the health care sector.
And, of course, the politicians for their future careers.
What also has been left unsaid is that the costs for these programs will now come out of every American's paychecks through their corporate employers, and as with social security, leaves the door open then for future legislation then involving "matching sums" from those employers for those benefits.
And the fact is, since the federal government cannot mandate that health care providers accept lower cost insurance or a government plan for any patients that they treat, can result in paying for years into this program and then when needing care not be able to find a health care provider that accepts these plans. Right now due to the low payment levels involved, there are many providers that do not accept new Medicare patients.
And while many of them do accept new patients for childbirth, most OB-GYNs won't accept them for surgical reasons otherwise. Since to do so would mean they have "committed" to that patients future care and then cannot deny them treatment when the costs of their treatment or specific needs outweighs the amounts the state or local plans are willing to pay.
Ethically, once a doctor accepts you as a patient, he cannot deny then future treatment. Thus, why so many doctors have now posted signs indicating that they will not accept future Medicare patients.
So you may be paying for this "universal" plan in taxation, yet then be unable to use it for your elder care needs when you may truly need it if there are not enough doctors in your local community that are willing to take on new patients.
And since the next generation of Americans is far fewer than the previous baby boomer generation was, this scenario has more basis in fact, than fiction.
So continue to believe the spins, America, but what the government wants in this legislation is merely to centralize more of the power in Washington, and more access to the fruits of your labor through their corporate "state actor" entities, since special interests wrote this legislation, after all, and that is who both Congress and Mr. Obama have been hard at work consulting.
Hoping that the older generation doesn't connnect that the AARP is the largest provider of supplemental plans, and speaks for the industries and trade groups that market through them, not at advocates for seniors at all. Nor does the AMA speak for most doctors either, simply their own also supplemental plans and trade groups. Nor the unions, just in order to get more for the corporate health care provider under their banner who also sell "supplemental" plans to their members. And with the government as the primary provider in these instances and then fall guy for denied treatment without any recourse for Big Daddy's refusal other than petitioning the very entity that refused the treatment to begin with, a great way for those supplemental carriers who give kickbacks to those organizations a way to reap massive revenue without ever having to pay out on any claims.
That's why the "corporate" interests have been meeting with Congress all summer behind those closed doors.
Just to make sure their "interests" and wallets were covered. Not yours.
At the present time, there is already a socialized health care program for seniors at the federal level called Medicare. At the state levels there is also now health care plans that are funded for the indigent, those that have been denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions, dependent children of the working poor, and even illegal immigrants for emergency care services (which are used to visit hospital emergency rooms for cases of the flu, and result in six hour waits for lawful Americans in many hospitals now throughout the country).
In effect, we already have health care insurance and provision for all Americans at some level or another. There is also self-insurance for the wealthy, and those that choose to self-insure for regular doctor visits but simply carry catastrophic care.
Right now, all of these programs are funded by the citizens at either the federal or state levels, with the states then required to provide matching sums with respect to some of these programs (except the one for the illegals, which is picked up at the federal level, which is why so many of those local initiatives denying such services to the illegals are really quite ludicrous since those services and costs are federal laws, not local, and the health care industry know that).
It appears what this truly is is simply another way to centralize more and more power in Washington, increase our federal deficit then in the process for the benefit of the European bankers that rape the American people for their services in printing our currency, and Wall Street once again for the health care sector.
And, of course, the politicians for their future careers.
What also has been left unsaid is that the costs for these programs will now come out of every American's paychecks through their corporate employers, and as with social security, leaves the door open then for future legislation then involving "matching sums" from those employers for those benefits.
And the fact is, since the federal government cannot mandate that health care providers accept lower cost insurance or a government plan for any patients that they treat, can result in paying for years into this program and then when needing care not be able to find a health care provider that accepts these plans. Right now due to the low payment levels involved, there are many providers that do not accept new Medicare patients.
And while many of them do accept new patients for childbirth, most OB-GYNs won't accept them for surgical reasons otherwise. Since to do so would mean they have "committed" to that patients future care and then cannot deny them treatment when the costs of their treatment or specific needs outweighs the amounts the state or local plans are willing to pay.
Ethically, once a doctor accepts you as a patient, he cannot deny then future treatment. Thus, why so many doctors have now posted signs indicating that they will not accept future Medicare patients.
So you may be paying for this "universal" plan in taxation, yet then be unable to use it for your elder care needs when you may truly need it if there are not enough doctors in your local community that are willing to take on new patients.
And since the next generation of Americans is far fewer than the previous baby boomer generation was, this scenario has more basis in fact, than fiction.
So continue to believe the spins, America, but what the government wants in this legislation is merely to centralize more of the power in Washington, and more access to the fruits of your labor through their corporate "state actor" entities, since special interests wrote this legislation, after all, and that is who both Congress and Mr. Obama have been hard at work consulting.
Hoping that the older generation doesn't connnect that the AARP is the largest provider of supplemental plans, and speaks for the industries and trade groups that market through them, not at advocates for seniors at all. Nor does the AMA speak for most doctors either, simply their own also supplemental plans and trade groups. Nor the unions, just in order to get more for the corporate health care provider under their banner who also sell "supplemental" plans to their members. And with the government as the primary provider in these instances and then fall guy for denied treatment without any recourse for Big Daddy's refusal other than petitioning the very entity that refused the treatment to begin with, a great way for those supplemental carriers who give kickbacks to those organizations a way to reap massive revenue without ever having to pay out on any claims.
That's why the "corporate" interests have been meeting with Congress all summer behind those closed doors.
Just to make sure their "interests" and wallets were covered. Not yours.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Fighting For Your DNA: Citizens' Council On Health
In addition to the many fronts that are now being waged against American citizens' privacy rights against unlawful search and seizure, chalk one more up that is now being fought on the state level with respect to the most private information, in addition to your medical records, that any American citizen has. His very own DNA.
Right now there is a battle going on in the State of Minnesota with respect to ownership rights of American citizens DNA which is being fought by the Citizens' Council on Health Care.
Twila Brase, the spokesperson for this organization, recently was on the Glenn Beck show attempting to enlighten and educate the public on the assaults which are now going on at both the state and federal levels with respect to Americans; medical information such as the provisions contained within the stimulus package on the establishment of a National Health Care Database, and the even more violative one now being waged in Minnesota over ownership rights of private citizens DNA, and that of their children.
This small, privately funded groups is and has been facing a David and Goliath battle against several medical research facilities, and the huge civic organization, the March of Dimes, who would like to be able to harvest DNA samples from patients in hospitals, including infants, for medical research purposes WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT, and accessible through a "state" warehousing facility.
It appears that these groups and research facilities are attempting to form a public/private partnership with the states in order to house this DNA for what is being represented as "for the good of humanity," in fighting birth defects and genetic diseases, but which also potentially could be used in the future for morally repugnant purposes also, such as selective genetic screenings and abortions, or genetic altering or engineering.
The bill also is rather ambiguous and silent on whether or not these DNA samples then could also be used for other reasons, such as evidence then in criminal proceedings without the issuance of warrants or probable cause thus convicting individuals without affording them the Constitutional protections of due process and meeting evidentiary standards in criminal proceedings.
The state would have custody of these records and samples in a DNA "warehouse."
It also appears that the expenses in maintaining such a warehouse have not also been give even cursory consideration.
CCHC has been fighting in order to place simply minimal "informed consent" requirements within the bill.
But I, as a citizen, believe this fight needs to be expanded in order to provide not merely the "safeguard" of implied consent, but should be mandated to require full disclosure, and "express" consent, a higher legal standard.
Simple implied consent would afford hospital administrators and corporate attorneys to hide such provisions within hospital admittance forms in all the legalese that is already included in such forms.
How many Americans, especially women in the midst of labor, have the presence of mind to truly digest the many pages included within hospital admittance forms now as it is. Express consent forms would require a separate and specific signature form and disclosure, and the risks involved to both patient and in the instance of children, their newborn, and require disclosure of the specific purpose for which the DNA will be used.
My basic question also is why is the state getting involved in this at all, at the taxpayer's expense with respect to warehousing these samples?
If the March of Dimes or Mayo Clinic (one of the research facilities involved) would like access to individual citizens DNA, should this not also be between doctor and patient or guardian, with the March of Dimes and these research facilities then also able to request volunteers for specific, legally sanctioned and regulated research purposes, with laws also strictly formulated and enforced on the storage methods and destruction of those samples and records after the specific research has been concluded?
These researchers must know at this point due to the push now for access to Americans DNA what exactly they hope to achieve with such research.
Limiting through legislation the purposes for which these samples can be used to purely "research" and not in any way "engineering," or as "selective abortion" diagnostic instruments appears to be absent in even minimally addressing this potential can of worms in the legislation as it is now written in its current form.
Below is the link to the CCHC's website, and they could use all the support they can get in fighting this open ended legislation at this point, which is now also spreading to other states throughout the nation:
http://www.cchconline.org/
Right now there is a battle going on in the State of Minnesota with respect to ownership rights of American citizens DNA which is being fought by the Citizens' Council on Health Care.
Twila Brase, the spokesperson for this organization, recently was on the Glenn Beck show attempting to enlighten and educate the public on the assaults which are now going on at both the state and federal levels with respect to Americans; medical information such as the provisions contained within the stimulus package on the establishment of a National Health Care Database, and the even more violative one now being waged in Minnesota over ownership rights of private citizens DNA, and that of their children.
This small, privately funded groups is and has been facing a David and Goliath battle against several medical research facilities, and the huge civic organization, the March of Dimes, who would like to be able to harvest DNA samples from patients in hospitals, including infants, for medical research purposes WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT, and accessible through a "state" warehousing facility.
It appears that these groups and research facilities are attempting to form a public/private partnership with the states in order to house this DNA for what is being represented as "for the good of humanity," in fighting birth defects and genetic diseases, but which also potentially could be used in the future for morally repugnant purposes also, such as selective genetic screenings and abortions, or genetic altering or engineering.
The bill also is rather ambiguous and silent on whether or not these DNA samples then could also be used for other reasons, such as evidence then in criminal proceedings without the issuance of warrants or probable cause thus convicting individuals without affording them the Constitutional protections of due process and meeting evidentiary standards in criminal proceedings.
The state would have custody of these records and samples in a DNA "warehouse."
It also appears that the expenses in maintaining such a warehouse have not also been give even cursory consideration.
CCHC has been fighting in order to place simply minimal "informed consent" requirements within the bill.
But I, as a citizen, believe this fight needs to be expanded in order to provide not merely the "safeguard" of implied consent, but should be mandated to require full disclosure, and "express" consent, a higher legal standard.
Simple implied consent would afford hospital administrators and corporate attorneys to hide such provisions within hospital admittance forms in all the legalese that is already included in such forms.
How many Americans, especially women in the midst of labor, have the presence of mind to truly digest the many pages included within hospital admittance forms now as it is. Express consent forms would require a separate and specific signature form and disclosure, and the risks involved to both patient and in the instance of children, their newborn, and require disclosure of the specific purpose for which the DNA will be used.
My basic question also is why is the state getting involved in this at all, at the taxpayer's expense with respect to warehousing these samples?
If the March of Dimes or Mayo Clinic (one of the research facilities involved) would like access to individual citizens DNA, should this not also be between doctor and patient or guardian, with the March of Dimes and these research facilities then also able to request volunteers for specific, legally sanctioned and regulated research purposes, with laws also strictly formulated and enforced on the storage methods and destruction of those samples and records after the specific research has been concluded?
These researchers must know at this point due to the push now for access to Americans DNA what exactly they hope to achieve with such research.
Limiting through legislation the purposes for which these samples can be used to purely "research" and not in any way "engineering," or as "selective abortion" diagnostic instruments appears to be absent in even minimally addressing this potential can of worms in the legislation as it is now written in its current form.
Below is the link to the CCHC's website, and they could use all the support they can get in fighting this open ended legislation at this point, which is now also spreading to other states throughout the nation:
http://www.cchconline.org/
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