Say Anything Blog

I know that the term “Orwellian” is an overused term, and comparisons to his novels such as 1984 and Animal Farm tend to be overdone, but this fits Orwell’s grim, gray vision of a nightmare future to a “T”:

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

Emphasis mine.

So….some office clown somewhere will decide if my doctor is doing the right thing concerning my treatment without ever having spoken to either of us? Just what qualifies this individual to make that sort of determination?

There’s more, and it’s even more frightening:

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties.  “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

Again, someone in the employ of the federal gubmint will be deciding just how “meaningful” your doctor and his or her treatment of you is truly is. And there will be penalties involved if they decide that they’re not “meaningful” enough.

Holy Hippocrates on a crutch. If that’s not enough to scare the hell out of you I don’t know what is. No more privacy, and unnamed bureaucrats deciding what’s best for you medically and who are poised to punish your doctor if he steps across some poorly defined line.

Bottom line: This “stimulus bill” is a naked power grab by big government and will allow them to boldly go where no American government has gone before - right into the privacy between you and your doctor that is now held sacred. Your doctor’s proctoscope won’t be the only thing looking up your rear end. No secrets anymore, pal.

One more thought about this…..remember what that Ohio bureaucrat did with Joe the Plumber’s records in supposedly confidential government computer files? Can you even begin to imagine what would happen to your life if someone did the same with your medical records? Have a controversial political opinion that doesn’t jibe with what they want you to say? Better keep it to yourself. That embarrassing herpes incident, or your hemorrhoid history would make fantastic tabloid fodder. Yeah. I trust the government. Just ask the aforementioned Joe the Plumber.

Folks, the future ain’t what it used to be.