It's probably just as well that the White House has shut down its email line for citizen snitches to send "fishy" surveillance to. It'd probably catch fire from all the incomings after this.
--S. http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=335401019293859 Greedy Sawbones By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, August 17, 2009 4:20 PM PT Health Care: The president claims doctors would rather cut off a diabetic's foot than treat the patient, since they get higher fees for amputations. Such a grossly irresponsible statement should not go unchallenged. Speaking in New Hampshire last week, Obama said "family care" physicians collect "$30,000, $40,000, $50,000" for amputations while the reimbursement for helping patients lose weight, watch their diets and monitor their medication is "a pittance." Such a damning exaggeration should have at least prompted a little fact-checking by truth-seeking journalists, to say nothing of a loud outcry from every physician association in the country. It was the president, after all, who warned about "wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed" in health care legislation. The storm that followed, however, has been weak. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons noted that "surgeons are neither reimbursed by Medicare, nor any provider for that matter, for foot amputations at rates anywhere close to $50,000, $40,000 or even $30,000." The American College of Surgeons and the California Medical Association also put out statements. Aside from those responses, the president's comment was left to hang in the air where it can be pulled down by the public and cited as conventional wisdom. It's not like the president made a forgivable gaffe while speaking about something about which he knows little. It was only three weeks earlier, remember, that he made another wild misrepresentation about doctors — that they might be yanking out kids' tonsils rather than treating sore throats because it pays better. Thanks to the 17,000-member orthopedic group, some people now know that Medicare reimbursements for amputations are in the $700-to-$1,200 range, including follow-up care for 90 days after surgery. As Dr. Brenda Fann would say, that's nowhere near "the price of a new C-class Mercedes." While the mainstream media are unwilling to set the record straight, so-called new media that aren't so invested in this White House aren't as shy. It takes the likes of Fann, a family doctor who blogs on Chicago Now, to counter Obama's assertion. "Physicians do not, and I emphasize do not, ever let a patient's disease progress just so they can ultimately do a procedure that pays better," Fann wrote last week. Implying that doctors are so greedy that they casually amputate body parts for big bucks is a piece of the Democrats' plan to demonize any group they feel stands in the way of their campaign to seize control of the nation's health care sector. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called medical insurers "villains." Rep. John Dingell said town hall protesters reminded him of the Ku Klux Klan. Obama himself has vilified insurers and in effect ordered opponents of his health care overhaul to shut up and "get out of the way." Most in need of an amputation is the federal government, which already reaches too deeply into the private sphere. Americans deserve more control over their health care. Offering them a public "option" will not increase their choices but instead narrow the private options so radically that eventually only government will provide coverage for care. Today's voters owe it to future generations to shut down the machine that's pushing a plan so shabby that lawmakers won't let themselves be covered by it. If they can't convince their "representatives" to drop the nonsense this year, they'll have to drop lawmakers the next. ------------------------------------ Report any problems, suggestions or abuse to [email protected] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Individual-Sovereignty/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Individual-Sovereignty/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
