Matters of Truth » Politics

A Preview Of What Is To Come: When Death Panels Come A Knockin

doctor horton — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:03:44 +0000

Its here… Death Panel Update: California Ends Mammogram Subsidies for Poor Women Under 50. Apparently, California will no longer subsidize mammograms for poor women under 50. Link: http://3.ly/UWs (HT: Gateway Pundit)

Thanks to a new recommendation made by the government appointed United States Preventive Services Task Force women will die. This is only a preview of what is to come.

Briefly, there are several groups that make recommendations within the world of preventive medicine. Each group has a bias (positive or negative) that influences their guidelines. Furthermore, each guideline is typically stratified based on the degree of strength of the recommendation which is ideally based on scientific evidence. Typically, we see groups such as the American Cancer Society making more conservative recommendations. The United States Preventive Services Task Force typically makes recommendations that are less conservative and aggressive. This group is appointed and funded by the government to make recommendations.

What is coming?

One can see how a government appointed panel could be influenced by economic factors when making recommendations. When ObamaCare passes, we will see the government lean more heavily on their appointed task force to determine care. The recommendations and guidelines we see now by the USPSTF WILL become mandates and protocols. Furthermore, we will see many new government task forces created to influence every single area of medicine. In other words, “death panels”.

Listen to breast cancer survivor Carly Fiorina tell her story: (HT: Scott Graves and HotAir)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The caption for this video is as follows:

In the weekly Republican address, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, describes how she was diagnosed with and beat breast cancer.

She explains why the recent recommendation on mammograms from a government-run panel was so troubling, especially because costs were a significant factor in the decision.

She points out, “The health care bill now being debated in the Senate explicitly empowers this very task force to influence future coverage and preventive care.”

She wonders, under the Democrat health bill, “Will a bureaucrat determine that my life isn’t worth saving?”

“Do we really want government bureaucrats, rather than doctors, dictating how we prevent and treat something like breast cancer?” she asks.

Return To Sender: Madame Speaker Hearts “The Disruptors”

doctor horton — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:11:05 +0000

Let the reader understand:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Flashback: Democratic etiquette in the Bush era

Click here to view the embedded video.

(HT: HotAir)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Russians Are Coming

doctor horton — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:39:11 +0000

There was news this week of a Russian nuclear submarine patrolling near the U.S. East Coast. The Wall Street Journal reported that two submarines came as near as 200 miles, yet remained in international waters according to U.S. Military officials. A Russian general is brushing off American concerns calling it “a normal process” and saying they were getting bored just being “idle” and “making circles” :

A senior Russian general on Wednesday brushed off American concerns about two Russian submarines spotted off the East Coast of the United States, saying the patrols were routine and suggesting that the U.S. Navy carries out similar missions near Russia.

“I don’t know if there is any news in this news for anyone,” said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of staff of the Russian armed forces. “The fleet shouldn’t sit on its hands and be idle.”…

…Asked at a news conference about the submarines, Nogovitsyn drew a comparison to the resumption of the long-range bomber missions. “This is our right. We got tired of flying circles on our routes and started strategic flights,” he said.

“And you remember how much clamor this caused at the time? Just because we started going out on combat patrols,” he continued. “But I must tell you that the battle potential of our strategic aviation is serious, and has only risen since then.”

“Long voyages of Russian submarines, this is a normal process,” he added, saying U.S. officials who are expressing concerns “understand this very well.”

Are we supposed to believe this, that a Russian fleet got bored being idle and making circles in the north seas and set out for an adventure? Perhaps the Russians are up to something sinister. Or, perhaps a couple of Russian submarine captains wanted to get a better view of an incredible land:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Whatever the case, we better be keeping our radar on and our scramblers on standby.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What Do The ObamaCare Campaign, Miss Teen SC, Brilliant Woman, and Bristol Va All Have In Common?

doctor horton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:18:55 +0000

Remember President Obama’s last visit to Bristol, Va? In a speech reminiscent of Miss Teen South Carolina, the President spoke a few words about health care. I imagine he will try to redeem that visit today as he takes his health care campaign to a Bristol grocery store, stands between Americans and their hamburgers, and gives the pitch that he isn’t going to stand between them and their doctors.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A Nuclear Explosion Waiting To Happen: Mark Levin’s Book In Sarah Palin’s Hands

doctor horton — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:48:02 +0000

Mark Levin is a conservative thinker and writer. Levin’s most recent book, Liberty and Tyranny, has been described as a modern day conservative manifesto. It has been #1 on the NY Times for most of the last 4 months. Adrienne, author of the blog Motivation: Truth, was able to capture a snapshot of Palin’s parting shot. What book was in Palin’s hand? Liberty and Tyranny. I am listening for Palin to add some Levin to her rhetorical arsenal.

HT: HotAir, @marklevinshow, American Thinker

Mark Levin C-SPAN Interview:

part 1

Click here to view the embedded video.

Links: part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

Levin’s bio from wikipedia:

Levin is an American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Mark Levin Show, a nationally-syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Citadel Media (formerly known as ABC Radio Networks). Levin earned his B.A. and J.D. at Temple University. His book Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list (hardcover nonfiction) the week of April 3, 2009.

Beginning in 1981, Levin served as advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan’s Cabinet, eventually becoming associate director of presidential personnel and ultimately Chief of Staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese; Levin also served as deputy assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education, and deputy solicitor of the U.S. Department of Interior. He has practiced law in the private sector, and is president of the Landmark Legal Foundationin Leesburg, Virginia. He holds a B.A. from Temple University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.

In 2001, the American Conservative Union gave Levin its Ronald Reagan Award.

Update: CNN Calls Doctors Racists

doctor horton — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:10:24 +0000

Well, I was just at the CNN website and their doctor hit job is now the leading story for the whole site.

CNN Calls Doctors Racists, Joins Obama In Attacking The Doctor Patient Relationship

doctor horton — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:08:36 +0000

Yesterday it was the President of the United States who attacked the integrity of the doctor patient relationship. Today CNN joins Obama in the attack on doctor’s integrity by accusing them of being racists. The headline reads: “Does your doctor judge you based on your color?”
Select excerpts:

Studies show blacks and whites are treated differently.

While it’s extremely difficult to tell in any given situation how much race — consciously or unconsciously — plays a role in a doctor’s decision making, multiple studies over several decades have found doctors make different decisions for black patients and white patients even when they have the same medical problems and the same insurance.

“It’s absolutely proven through studies that a black man and a white man going to the hospital with the same complaint will be treated differently,” Dr. Neil Calman, a family physician and president of the Institute for Family Health in New York, said. Calman is also Reid’s regular physician.

For example, a 2005 study found African-American cardiac patients were less likely than whites to receive a lifesaving procedure called revascularization, where doctors restore the flow of oxygen to the heart. The study authors at RTI International, a research institute, noted that all of the patients had Medicare, which covers the cost of revascularization.

In a study conducted in 2007, Harvard researchers showed doctors a vignette about a 50-year-old man with chest pain who arrived at the emergency room, where an EKG showed he’d had a heart attack. Sometimes the researchers paired the medical history with a photo of black man and other times with a photo of a white man.

The doctors were significantly more likely to recommend lifesaving drugs when they thought the patient was white than when they thought the patient was black.

Is it racism or something else?

Video link: here.

I think this is a bunch of bull.

Elsewhere today, a group representing the nation’s ENT surgeons responded to President Obama’s press briefing with remarks on tonsillectomy procedures:

(HT: HotAir)

Responding to a question, President Obama said, “Part of what we want to do is to make sure that those decisions are being made by doctors and medical experts based on evidence, based on what works…. Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. … the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out … I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out, or whether … something else would make a difference…. So part of what we want to do is to free doctors, patients, hospitals to make decisions based on what’s best for patient care.”

In reply, the AAO-HNS stated, “We, too, are in favor of evidence-based medicine that supports quality patient care. President Obama’s statement highlights the complexity of medical decisions like this. However, the AAO-HNS is disappointed by the President’s portrayal of the decision making processes by the physicians who perform these surgeries. In many cases, tonsillectomy may be a more effective treatment, and less costly, than prolonged or repeated treatments for an infected throat.

“For the past several years, the Academy has been developing clinical guidelines based on evidence and outcomes research, including ‘Quality of Life after Tonsillectomy,’ a January 2008 supplement to the journal Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery. We are in agreement with the President’s statement that physicians, patients, and hospitals should make the decisions, based on the evidence, about what’s best for patient care.”

As I said yesterday, I am not surprised at these sort of attacks at this time:

The majority of physicians are against socialized medicine. Likewise, the majority of patients don’t like the government making their health decisions for them. Neither the American people nor their doctors are interested in forming a doctor-government-patient relationship. This relationship is a big obstacle to ObamaCare, and I think the democrats know this. Therefore, I am not surprised when dumb and offensive statements like this are made.

Obama’s New Strategy: Attacking The Doctor Patient Relationship

doctor horton — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:25:51 +0000

During his press conference tonight, the President wielded this attack against the doctor patient relationship:

You come in and you have a sore throat, or your child has a sore throat, or you have repeated sore throats. The doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say, “You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.” Now, that may be the right thing to do, but I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out…or whether it might make more sense just to change, maybe they have allergies maybe they have something else that would make a difference.

The video can be seen here.

An effective argument against socialized medicine in this debate has been an appeal to the doctor patient relationship: “Who do you trust more, your doctor or the government?” The majority of physicians are against socialized medicine. Likewise, the majority of patients don’t like the government making their health decisions for them. Neither the American people nor their doctors are interested in forming a doctor-government-patient relationship. This relationship is a big obstacle to ObamaCare, and I think the democrats know this. Therefore, I am not surprised when dumb and offensive statements like this are made.

Update: Mayo Clinic Reacts To House Health Care Bill

doctor horton — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:32:10 +0000

Update

Tonight during the Obama press conference the president fielded a question about the Mayo Clinic’s reaction to the House health care bill. Over the past two days Mayo Clinic has posted two updates to their previous statement regarding the house health care bill. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out over the next few days.

From Mayo Clinic’s Health Policy Blog, 7/21/09

Late yesterday, Mayo Clinic became aware of the concept of development of an Independent Medicare Advisory Council. We applaud the direction of this proposal. We view favorably the concept of an independent body that can move Medicare to a “value- based payment” model. An independent Medicare advisory commission focused on defining value, measuring it, and finding ways to pay for value could have significant, positive impact on health care for the long term. While we think the proposal’s timeline of 2014 is too long to wait to see value-based reforms, we look forward to working with the administration on refining and strengthening their new proposal. This, and other, bold concepts have the potential to “bend the cost curve” in U.S. health spending without compromising health.

Today on Health Policy Blog, 7/22/09

An open letter to congress.

What is an Independent Medicare Advisory Council? The Office of Management and Budget blog at WhiteHouse.gov referenced the Council on 7/17/09:

One of the most potent reforms is a change in the process of health care policymaking: empowering an independent, non-partisan body of doctors and other health experts to make recommendation about Medicare payment rates and other reforms.

Today, the Administration sent a letter to congressional leaders outlining our support for this approach, with a proposal for an Independent Medicare Advisory Commission (as well as Senator Rockefeller’s similar proposal to accomplish this through the existing MedPAC) to detail how one might accomplish this goal.

The Independent Medicare Advisory Council (IMAC) would be an independent, non-partisan body of doctors and other health experts, appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serving for five-year terms. The IMAC would issue recommendations as long as their implementation would not result in any increase in the aggregate level of net expenditures under the Medicare program; and either would improve the quality of medical care received by the program’s beneficiaries or improve Medicare’s efficiency.

As with the military base-closing commissions, this proposed legislation would require the President to approve or disapprove each set of the IMAC’s recommendations as a package. If the President accepts the IMAC’s recommendations, Congress would then have 30 days to intervene with a joint resolution before the Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to implement them. If either the President disapproves the recommendations of the IMAC or Congress passes such a joint resolution, the recommendations would be null and void, and current law would remain in effect.

Are We Headed For A Health Care Brawl?

doctor horton — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:10:34 +0000

Is this video a preview of what we may see in the United States Congress as the health care debate heats up over the next few weeks? This video shows a brawl which took place in the South Korean parliament on July 22, 2009. Check out the background news story from the AP.

Click here to view the embedded video.