Desperate Dem’s Hiding Health Care Bill

Why Harry Reid Won’t Show What’s In “His Plan”

While Harry Reid has done his level best to hide the “health care reform” bill that’s making its way through the Senate, details have been leaking out about the compromises – and remaining details – contained within the bill that frankly would piss off most American’s if they knew the facts about it.

In large part, the current bill has been ‘gutted’ by countless amendments, leaving for the most part an empty framework that sets up more government bureaucracy and forces taxpayer funded abortions on all taxpayers.

There has been little said about all the increased TAXES that the now empty “framework” implements without providing actual services to the American People.  Herein lies the reason the Democrats are so anxious to pass the Reid plan: it increases taxes, but doesn’t require Government to actually do much of anything.

But don’t take my word for it,  Senator Tom Coburn (R. Oklahoma) a practicing physician in the U.S. Senate had much to say about the Reid Plan in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal:

For instance, the Reid bill (in sections 3403 and 2021) explicitly empowers Medicare to deny treatment based on cost. An Independent Medicare Advisory Board created by the bill—composed of permanent, unelected and, therefore, unaccountable members—will greatly expand the rationing practices that already occur in the program.

That’s right, you and I will pay increased taxes to the Federal Government only to have then deny treatment based on cost.  Isn’t this the same complaint the Democrats and Obama are using to bully the Insurance companies?  “You betcha.”

Section 6301 of the Reid bill creates new comparative effectiveness research (CER) programs. CER panels have been used as rationing commissions in other countries such as the U.K., where 15,000 cancer patients die prematurely every year according to the National Cancer Intelligence Network. CER panels here could effectively dictate coverage options and ration care for plans that participate in the state insurance exchanges created by the bill.

Death panels anyone?  Sarah Palin (love her or hate her) had it exactly right, and the proof is above citing the exact section of the Reid plan which implements them. 

Additionally, the Reid bill depends on the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in no fewer than 14 places. This task force was responsible for advising women under 50 to not undergo annual mammograms. The administration claims the task force recommendations do not carry the force of law, but the Reid bill itself contradicts them in section 2713. The bill explicitly states, on page 17, that health insurance plans "shall provide coverage for" services approved by the task force. This chilling provision represents the government stepping between doctors and patients. When the government asserts the power to provide care, it also asserts the power to deny care.

Rationed health care, which put the Government in between a Doctor and Patient relationship, dictating what care can – and cannot – be given based on Government “task forces.”  If you’re a woman under age 50 and develop breast cancer, your chances of dying because of being denied early detection just went up exponentially thanks to the Reid plan, backed by Barack Hussein Obama – who himself said that the Government would never get between a patient and doctor.

The results of Government run, rationed health care are already evident here in the U.S:

In Maryland, 17,000 Medicaid patients are currently on a waiting list for medical services, and as many as 250 may have died while awaiting care, according to state auditors. Kansas, the home state of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, faces a Medicaid backlog of more than 15,000 applicants.

If you’re elderly, have a family history of breast (or other types of) cancer, or have a pre-existing condition – it was nice knowing you.  Government run health care is going to ration you out of existence.