PRESS RELEASES
For Immediate Release
Monday, February 22, 2010
The President's Health Care Proposal:
Same Song; Second Verse
(St. Paul/Minneapolis) - The President's Proposal, just issued today, is not what the doctor, or the public, ordered, says Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC).
"President Obama is clearly not serious about addressing the concerns of the American people regarding a federal takeover of the health care system. The basic elements of the government takeover, including imposed health care rationing protocols and Department of Health and Human Services decision-making authority in the Senate bill, have not changed,” says Twila Brase, president of CCHC.
After analysis of the 11-page summary, CCHC shares the following concerns:
TAKEOVER INTACT - The President's Proposal maintains the ‘government takeover' structure of the Senate bill and adds a new pillar of control over insurers:
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Individual mandate to purchase health insurance
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Employer "play or pay" mandate
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Health Insurance Exchanges
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Health Insurance Rate Authority
SHELL GAME - The President's Proposal closes the Medicare prescription "donut hole" but does not address plans to implement the Senate bill's health care rationing proposals. Medicare recipients can expect to see access to medical services and patient care cut even as their medication "donut hole" is filled.
SURVEILLANCE CONTROLS – The President's Proposal would impose new federal surveillance authority over patients and doctors:
- Real-time analysis of claim and payments under public programs
- Medicaid prescription drug profiling
- Medicare contractors access to medical records and claims
WHERE'S THE BILL? – The President’s Proposal is not an actual bill. Because the 'devil is in the details,' the only proposal that should be up for discussion is one with proposed legislative language.
"The President's Proposal is still ObamaCare. President Obama is planning to put the federal government in charge of patients, doctors, and insurers. We expect Thursday's health care summit to be the second verse of the same song we’ve been hearing for an entire year," says Brase.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Twila Brase, President
651-646-8935 office
- CCHC -
Citizens' Council on Health Care supports
freedom for patients and doctors, medical
innovation, and the right to a confidential patient-doctor
relationship.
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