More IRS-Health Record Problems?

Health Care IT News: "IRS faces class action lawsuit over theft of 60 million medical records"

 Scott Gottleib (Forbes): "The IRS Is Accessing Your Health Records. You Trust Them?"

Also from Gottleib: "Suit Alleges IRS Improperly Seized 60 Million Personal Medical Records"

In the second piece, Gottleib quotes from the complaint:

“These medical records contained intimate and private information of more than 10,000,000 Americans, information that by its nature includes information about treatment for any kind of medical concern, including psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, sexual or drug treatment, and a wide range of medical matters covering the most intimate and private of concerns,” the complaint states.

“Despite knowing that these medical records were not within the scope of the warrant, defendants threatened to ‘rip’ the servers containing the medical data out of the building if IT personnel would not voluntarily hand them over,” the complaint reads.

(Of course, the validity of these complaints presumably still needs to be established in court.)

Hsieh at PJM: Did the White House Try to Get a Conservative Columnist Canned?

PJ Media published my latest short blog post, "Did the White House Try to Get a Conservative Columnist Canned?"

I appreciate Dr. Milton Wolf's willingness to let me quote him in this piece. As he notes, what once seemed implausible, today seems possible.

I applaud Dr. Wolf's tireless advocacy efforts and always enjoyed reading his columns.  (We differ on some issues, but I agree with much of what he writes, especially on health care policy.)  I also want to give the Washington Times credit for ignoring that kind of government "hint".

Plus, it's in my self-interest to ensure that other radiologist-activists don't draw the wrong kind of government attention.  Hence, I very much appreciated today's Instapundit link.

If you haven't done so, you should check out Milton Wolf's website!

Quick Links: York, Samuelson

Byron York: "IRS scandal raises fears about enforcing Obamacare".

Robert Samuelson: "Overselling ObamaCare".

Catron on Grand Old Poseurs

In his latest American Spectator piece, David Catron explains why advocates of free-market health reform should not regard Republicans as their unconditional allies.

His piece, "The Grand Old Poseurs" discusses problems with positions taken by federal and state Republican officials including Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Ohio governor John Kasich.

Catron is more optimistic about some new blood such as Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. (For me, the jury is still out.) 

I'm definitely all in favor for holding our elected officials' feet to the fire on this issue, regardless party affiliation.

(For more details, read the full text of "The Grand Old Poseurs".)

Diana Hsieh Podcast on EMTALA

Diana's internet radio segment on the EMTALA law went well yesterday! For those interested in listening to the segment, here's her description and the links:

Do people have a right to emergency medical care?

On Sunday's Philosophy in Action Radio, I answered a question on emergency medical care. The question was:

Do people have a right to emergency medical care? EMTALA (a.k.a. the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) is a federal law that requires emergency rooms to stabilize any patient with an emergency medical condition, regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Is that proper? Is that the same as a right to medical care?

My Answer, In Brief: EMTALA violates the rights of doctors, based on the false premise of a "right" to health care. In practice, it's a disaster for doctors, hospitals, and the working poor. Ultimately, only scammers and advocates of government-controlled medicine benefit by it. Download or Listen to My Full Answer:

• Duration: 22:21
• Download: MP3 Segment

Tags: Altruism, Charity, Egalitarianism, Emergencies, Ethics, Free Society, Justice, Law, Law, Medicine, Politics, Poverty

Links:

• FAQ on EMTALA
• Cato Institute: Medicare's Origin: The Economics and Politics of Dependency by Charlotte Twight
• American College of Emergency Physicians: On EMTALA and The Uninsured
• Health Care Is Not a Right by Leonard Peikoff
• The Objective Standard: Moral Health Care vs. "Universal Health Care" by Lin Zinser and Paul Hsieh
• The Objective Standard: Health Care and the Separation of Charity and State by Paul Hsieh
• Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM), particularly its articles
• The History of Health Care Costs and Health Insurance by Linda Gorman

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

A podcast of the full episode – where I answered questions on taxes versus slavery, infanticide after abortion, emergency medical care, and more – is available here: Episode of 12 May 2013.

You can automatically download podcasts of Philosophy in Action Radio by subscribing to Philosophy in Action's Podcast RSS Feed:

• Enhanced M4A Feed: Subscribe via iTunes or another podcast player
• Standard MP3 Feed: Subscribe via iTunes or another podcast player

About Philosophy in Action Radio

Philosophy in Action Radio applies rational principles to the challenges of real life in live internet radio shows on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.

Upcoming Diana Hsieh Podcast on EMTALA

My wife Diana Hsieh will be covering the EMTALA law (Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) as one of the topics in her "Philosophy In Action" radio show tomorrow morning.

Here's the question she'll be answering:

Question 3: Emergency Medical Care

Do people have a right to "stabilizing medical care"? EMTALA (a.k.a. the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act) is a federal law that requires ERs to stabilize any patient with an emergency medical condition, regardless of the patient's ability to pay. Is that proper? Is that the same as a right to medical care? Does it matter that EMTALA only applies to emergency rooms that accept Medicare patients?

The other topics she'll be covering include "taxes vs. slavery", the Gosnell infanticide case, and how to work with an uncommunicative boss.

For more details on how to listen live (or listen to the podcast later), go to her page.

McArdle on Medical Innovation

Megan McArdle asks, "Has Medical Innovation Slowed Down?"

The teaser sentence:

The good news is that health care costs aren't rocketing away like they used to. The bad news is that drug discovery has slowed down too.

Benjamin Rush YouTube Channel

The Benjamin Rush Society (soon to be renamed the Benjamin Rush Institute) has a new YouTube channel.

According to executive director Dr. Beth Haynes:

You can now access all of the debates from the 2012-2013 academic year - the latest of which is on the issue of Maintenance of Certification. The full video of this particular is debate lengthy -- 2 hours. A volunteer is preparing a transcript from which I will work on creating an abridged version - but as that won't be available for several weeks, I wanted to make the full length version available now...

This topic is picking up steam, sparking initiatives in state medical societies(one example attached), a law suit, and news articles, a survey of physicians asking them to report actual costs for recertification, and vigorous discussion on various internet platforms.

I am thrilled that the work of BRS is relevant beyond medical school campuses, and able to provide medical students a place to get involved now.

 Kudos to Dr. Haynes for her great work!

Hsieh Forbes OpEd on 3D-Printed Guns

This isn't directly related to health care policy, but it's a hot topic that's been in the news lately.  Plus it's one of my other public policy interests, so I'm exercising blogger's privilege to post about it anyways!

Yesterday's Forbes published my latest OpEd, "Why 3D-Printed Untraceable Guns Could Be Good For America".

Here is the opening:

In the past few days, Forbes writer Andy Greenberg broke a pair of dramatic stories on Cody Wilson’s quest to build an untraceable plastic gun using commercially available 3D-printing technology. First, Greenberg published exclusive photos of the completed firearm, then he reported on a successful test firing of a live .380 cartridge.

Although the technology is still in its infancy, Wilson’s innovation has already sparked heated debate. Some gun rights advocates (including Wilson) argue this means current gun laws will soon be obsolete. They welcome the fact that home hobbyists may soon be able to build functioning firearms without any background check or government record. Others are alarmed, concerned that this would enable criminals to more easily obtain firearms. Congressman Steve Israel has already stated his intent to modify current laws to ban such guns.

However, Congressman Israel may be too late. Once thousands of motivated hobbyists start downloading open source gun designs and posting their refinements, we’ll likely see rapid technical advances. But Cody Wilson’s real impact on America may not be technological but political — and in a good way...

(Read the full text of "Why 3D-Printed Untraceable Guns Could Be Good For America".)

Update: I've gotten some helpful feedback on this piece.  I should make clear that I don't support government overreach with bad laws.  But neither do I support the anarchists who wish to misuse this technology to violate individual rights either. Instead, I regard this as a good opportunity to promote limited government as the proper alternative to both statism and anarchism. If I was insufficiently clear on this earlier, I apologize!