A Response to the Dr. Stephen E. Fraser letter (and copycats) Part 2

THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA'S "EVIL" HEALTH CARE PLAN

PART 2 of 3

> Page 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18: The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan.

This is an absolute lie and a silly leap in logic. Again, Dr. Fraser, you use buzzwords like “ACORN” and “Americorps” to frighten ignorant people that you know will never read the actual healthcare reform proposal (too bad that I did). Notice that I use the term “proposal” and you use the term “bill.” These lines simply say that the government will conduct outreach activities to make sure individuals and employers understand their rights and benefits under the health plan. Apparently, you’d rather people not be informed. I find that strange, because I believe the more people that know about their plan, the more money you will make. Oh wait – all the doctors are going to be poor, right? Apparently not, considering the massive paychecks (think $600K+) that many doctors under the NHS plan get in the UK. I should also mention that NHS doctors get bonuses for KEEPING PATIENTS WELL and have pay-for-performance incentives based on patient feedback and long-term health.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5375696.ece

> Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members - your Health care WILL be rationed.

Stephen, see three lines above. I think you’ve repeated yourself.

> Page 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill: Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Excuse me? It says for people that refuse to enroll in a plan will automatically be enrolled in Medicaid. That seems like a pretty open choice – the choice NOT to enroll in a QHBP.

> Page 124 lines 24-25 HC: No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monopoly.

It isn’t a monopoly. I believe that 5/6^th in the United States of people are currently insured. The government health plan is one option for the uninsured. The proposal does not prohibit a person from buying private insurance or from being insured by his or her employer. I do think this is strong language, and it will probably be restructured. I am sure there will be some limitations on legal action concerning the price of services, but perhaps this is extreme wording.

> Page 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill: Doctors/ American Medical Association - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make! (salary)

Actually, it gives doctors the choice of payment rates or payment ratios. Also, these doctors will be a part of an incentive plan, as mentioned above, that focuses on rewarding doctors for the quality of care over the volume of patience and ordered services. Doctors will receive bonuses if their patients get well and stay healthy. There will be less of an incentive to milk every dollar of the insurance companies by ordering needless, costly procedures, and can do so while being arrogant and condescending.

For example, I went in to the doctor recently and told him that I thought I may have a kidney stone. He ordered a blood test, urinalysis, and a CAT scan. Seriously – a CAT scan? But he did it in a disingenuous way – he barely looked at me during the 5 minutes I was there and interrupted me any time I tried to speak. He said, “If we don’t call, you aren’t dying” and walked out of the room. Eventually, I walked into the hall, and I saw another guy standing there. He asked the nurse, “Is he done with me? He just walked out – he didn’t say anything.” “Yeah, that means he’s done with you.” Wow. Talk about personal care. For those that think the “Obama plan” will result in “worse doctors,” well, God save us if that happens.

There is nothing in the literature that suggests these doctors can’t accept private patients! This only pertains to patients covered under the government plan. And fixed prices for services is nothing new – this is how private insurance plans currently work.

> Page 145 Line 15-17: An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE!

This is absolutely not true. This section describes the requirements for employers that wish to use the plan. Title I of the bill does not prohibit employers from enrolling employees in private plans.

> Page 126 Lines 22-25: Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

VERY strange. Page 126 says that a health care provider may not “participate in the public health insurance option unless such provider is appropriately licensed or certified under State law.” There is no mention of part time employees.

> Page 149 Lines 16-24: ANY Employer with payroll 401k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

Half-true. Any employer with over 400K in payroll that does not offer a private plan or enroll in the public plan will be taxed 8% of any employee's average pay that is not covered. I don't believe it is on "all payroll." It indicates a tax only for uninsured employees. And the doctor implies that an employer must take the public option, which is not true. Due to backlash, I have heard this number will be raised to $750K.

> Page 150 Lines 9-13: Business's with payroll btw 251k & 401k who doesn't provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

This is on a sliding scale. The same is true here. The employer can have public or private insurance; it is the absence of insurance for an employee that results in the tax. I've read that this number is being raised to $500K.

> Page 167 Lines 18-23: ANY individual who doesn't have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

This is tricky. It does say this, but it also says this amount shall not exceed the applicable national average premium. This is basically an incentive to get people to join, at minimum, a basic health plan. Consider that the cost will be quite small, considering the number of people that will be on the plan.

> Page 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill: Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

Yes, they are exempt because they aren't covered. See here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/0522DNBUShealthcare.25377b8.html

> Page 195 HC Bill: Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans finances /personal records.

NO. This applies to people that want an affordability tax credit. This information suggests that someone must prove they are eligible for tax credits - just like every other type of credit in existence.

> Page 203 Line 14-15 HC: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that!

Yes. What is your point? You've taken it out of context.

> Page 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill: Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid Seniors, low income and poor are affected.

There is absolutely no mention of anything like this on this page.

> Page 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill: Doctors, doesn't matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same!

This doesn't apply to the specialists specialties, only the services. Why pay a specialist more than a general practitioner for the same service?

> Page 253 Line 10-18: Govt sets value of Doctor's time, proffession, judgment etc. Literally value of humans.

First, as a professional, you should probably know how to spell "profession." Second, this has to do with generating codes to differentiate between services. This is no different than private insurance. Again, you have to have a way to categorize things in order to measure success, costs, or growth. The "literally value of humans" has nothing to do with the subject matter, and is spoken like a true lunatic.

> Page 265 Sec 1131: Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

This is related to Medicare costs and the Market Basket Update, and there is certainly not enough information to make this claim from the information provided.

> Page 268 Sec 1141: Federal Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Again, this relates to Medicare. Apparently, the Market Basket Update is something seniors want.
http://futureofaging.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/washington-update-energy-and-commerce-committee-passes-health-care-reform-bill/

> Page 272 SEC. 1145: TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

OK, one of us is completely incompetent. Because to me, this page reads, "We are doing a study to determine whether we need to reclassify the costs to hospitals of outpatient cancer treatment by comparing the price of care across different outpatient cancer care centers. We will then raise the amount of money the government pays by modifying the Ambulatory Payment Classifications associated with said costs." I agree that was confusing; they are welcome to use my definition.

PART 3 COMING SOON

A Response to the Dr. Stephen E. Fraser letter (and copycats) Part 1

THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA’S "EVIL" HEALTH CARE PLAN
PART 1 of 3

I received a chain letter purportedly written by Dr. Stephen E. Fraser, an Indianapolis anesthesiologist. In this letter, Dr. Fraser blasts, in detail, the current health care proposal which can be viewed here:

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/111/AAHCA09001xml.pdf

Some light Google surfing shows that the letter is gaining steam around the nation.

The letter is a call to arms; the doctor hopes that average Americans will stand together against a ghastly, evil government health care plan.

The problem is, he completely misrepresents what the document says.

If a real doctor named Dr. Stephen E. Fraser wrote this letter, I question his capacity for ethics and his ability to think critically. Woe to his patients.

Here is my response (the original letter is italicized):

> Senator Bayh,

> As a practicing physician I have major concerns with the healthcare bill before Congress. I actually have read the bill and am shocked by the brazenness of the government's proposed involvement in the patient physician relationship. The very idea that the government will dictate and ration patient care is dangerous and certainly not helpful in designing a healthcare system that works for all. Every physician I work with agrees that we need to fix our healthcare system, but the proposed bills currently making their way through congress will be a disaster if passed.

> I ask you respectfully and as a patriotic American to look at the following troubling lines that I have read in the bill. You cannot possibly believe that these proposals are in the best interests of the country and our fellow citizens.

> Page 22 of the HC Bill: Mandates that the Govt will audit books of all employers that self insure!!

This page has nothing to do with "auditing books." It simply provisions a committee to study self-insured employee health care markets to ensure that the government health care plan does not give small employers incentives to self-insure. This in no way implies that companies can no longer self-insure. Why does the administration wish to compete with self-insurance plans? See the following from Inc. magazine detailing the failures of self-insurance companies, the risks involved, and the liabilities a small employer may face (leading to the failure of their business):

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2008/10/self-insurance-risks.html

> Page 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

This section clearly says “private-public committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts” chaired by the Surgeon General and composed of the following:

a) 18 members who are NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES OR OFFICERS

b) 8 or less members who are Federal employees and officers

The group must be made up of members that reflect the opinions of health insurance “providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant government agencies” including physicians and experts on children health to balance the panel and make sure “no single sector unduly influences the recommendations of [the] committee.”

Sir, you’ve misunderstood the section, which is strange considering a doctor must do well on the MCAT, be accepted into medical school, and successfully analyze/internalize the fierce technical/academic literature required to become a doctor and maintain a career (especially a technical specialty like anesthesiology).

And tell me, Dr., how do you expect a health plan to be created without a schedule of covered treatments and ailments? You say that you wish to “fix the healthcare system” but you can’t dream of a system that requires that covered treatments are defined? That doesn’t sound very conservative. And who would you rather be on the committee than those listed?

> Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill: YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!

This is absolute fiction. Again, this section says nothing about “rationing” healthcare, and simply discusses the establishment of copayments and says that the out-of-pocket expenses for those insured cannot exceed $5,000 for individuals or $10,000 for a family.

> Page 42 of HC Bill:The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice!

This section outlines the duties of the Commissioner. I see nothing about “choosing HC Benefits for you” or having “no choice!” To think that a single person is just going to cherry pick benefits is a gross leap in logic.

> Page 50 Section 152 in HC bill: HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

This is a complete fabrication.

This very short section (one sentence) details that DISCRIMINATION shall be PROHIBITED IN HEALTH CARE. I’d like to see the type of person that disagrees with this.

> Page 58 HC Bill: Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

It doesn’t say that there will be “real-time access to individuals [sic] finances.” It says that there will be a real-time ability to “determine an individual’s financial responsibility at the point of service,” i.e. the amount of co-pay they are required to pay or the amount of their remaining deductable limit. The point of “real-time” is that it be quick and painless for the consumer. As far as an ID card, the document says the system may utilize a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card, not a “National ID Healthcard.” Yes, that sounds very scary, but there is no mention of it in the document. And, being a doctor, can you please show me a healthcare plan that exists today that does not require a form of identification? And what is so evil about carrying an insurance card?

> Page 59 HC Bill lines 21-24: Govt will have direct access to you ur banks accounts for elective funds transfer.

It says “enable” electronic funds transfers, not MANDATE, in order to “allow” automated payments.

> Page 65 Sec 164: is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations: (ACORN).

Sir, you seem to have an agenda. You have completely misrepresented this section. Let us hope nobody copies your letter and sends it to their representatives, lest they become the comedy of the office that day. It says that a temporary reinsurance program will “assist employment-based plans” with “providing health benefits to retirees and eligible spouses, surviving spouses, and dependents” of retirees. I fail to see what this has to do with unions or ACORN.

> Page 84 Sec 203 HC bill: Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private HC plans in the Exchange.

This section details the requirements for health insurance providers that wish to offer a Qualified Health Benefit Plan (QHBP) – they must offer a basic plan, and may optionally offer an enhanced plan, and if they do so, may optionally offer a premium plan.

> Page 85 Line 7 HC Bill: Specifications for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Line 7 says “(c) SPECIFICATION OF BENEFIT LEVELS FOR”

I am not sure how this translates to “The Govt will ration your Healthcare!”

> Page 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill: Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example - Translation: illegal aliens.

Wow. I actually laughed at this. Somehow, a decorated physician is convinced that offering a form in Spanish means that the plan covers illegal aliens. Apparently he is not concerned with the health or the income stream of the large number of people in the country that are more comfortable reading health documentation or describing their ailments in their native tongue.

Click here for part 2.