{"id":3074,"date":"2009-12-17T16:15:20","date_gmt":"2009-12-17T21:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=3074"},"modified":"2009-12-17T23:01:10","modified_gmt":"2009-12-18T04:01:10","slug":"tom-coburn-senate-health-care-bill-is-scarier-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/17\/tom-coburn-senate-health-care-bill-is-scarier-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Coburn: Senate Health Care Bill is Scarier Than You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have no doubt that critics will claim Dr. Tom Coburn’s Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> is nothing but scare tactics… But the simple truth is if quoting from the bill scares people maybe the bill itself isn’t such good idea:<\/p>\n

My 25 years as a practicing physician have shown me what happens when government attempts to practice medicine: Doctors respond to government coercion instead of patient cues, and patients die prematurely. Even if the public option is eliminated from the bill, these onerous rationing provisions will remain intact.<\/p>\n

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\u2014composed of permanent, unelected and, therefore, unaccountable members\u2014will greatly expand the rationing practices that already occur in the program. Medicare, for example, has limited cancer patients’ access to Epogen, a costly but vital drug that stimulates red blood cell production. It has limited the use of virtual, and safer, colonoscopies due to cost concerns. And Medicare refuses medical claims at twice the rate of the largest private insurers.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There’s much more in Dr. Coburn’s column, go read it all and share it with your family and friends.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure what I can add, Dr. Coburn is right, most of us probably will be alright under the Reid bill, but some won’t… The practice of medicine is as much an art as it is a science; patients whose lives hang in the balance rely on the care of doctors who understand the art and science of medicine, and who are free to act in the best interests of their patients without government interference.<\/p>\n

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