Catron: Catholic Institutions Revolt Against HHS

In the 5/23/2012 American Spectator, David Catron discusses how, "Catholic Institutions Revolt En Masse Against HHS Mandate".

He summarizes:

On Monday, 43 high-profile Catholic organizations, including the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. and the University of Notre Dame, filed suit against the Obama administration. In an open letter, the Archbishop of Washington summed up the collective position of the plaintiffs by explaining that the mandate "fundamentally redefines the nation's long-standing definition of religious ministry… HHS's conception of what constitutes the practice of religion is so narrow that even Mother Teresa would not have qualified."

As before, they are (properly) objecting to government mandates requiring them to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees.

I'm glad that the Catholic organizations are (belatedly) speaking up in favor for their freedom.

However, David Harsanyi made the following related observation in his column, "Church of the Holy Contraception":

Perhaps the Catholic Church, which often seems to back economic "fairness" rather than market freedom, will be more sensitive to the intrusions of the state in economic choice. This episode exhibits how economic freedom is intricately tied to all other liberties. When the state creates virtual monopolies through regulatory regimes, it also gets to decide what is moral and necessary and compels everyone to act accordingly.

The Catholic organizations might not have had to file this recent lawsuit if they had previously taken a principled stance against ObamaCare before it became law.

Quick Links: Canada, Nanny State, MLR

Ontario government "slashes" fees paid to doctors, in order to save money.

(Because the government is the "single payer", the physicians basically have two choices: Like it or lump it.)

Nanny state update: "Utah High School Fined $15,000 for Selling Soda".

(But it's for the children, so it's ok.)

"Medical Loss Ratio" (MLR) mandates under ObamaCare are driving private insurance agents out of business.  (Via Brian Schwartz.)

Hsieh PJM OpEd: Dr. Orwell Will See You Now

The 5/22/2012 edition of PJMedia.com has published my latest OpEd, "Dr. Orwell Will See You Now".

I discuss the various forms of deceptive language ObamaCare advocates in and out of the government are now using to sugarcoat and obfuscate its true nature.

Terms like "affordable", "protection", "autonomy", "marketplace", and "coverage" all take on new meanings for ObamaCare supporters. They even have their own version of Orwell's famous "Slavery is Freedom".

Don't be fooled by their health care Newspeak!

See full text: "Dr. Orwell Will See You Now"

Quick Links: Privacy, Batteries, Innovation

Your medical privacy is not as secure as you might think.  (See the 5/11/2012 newsletter from Citizens' Council for Health Freedom has more details.)

Medical News Today reports, "Kids' ER Visits Due To Batteries Double".

As the OHPCenter notes, "Kudos to the Center for Injury Research and Policy for offering rational, rights-respecting recommendations to parents and electronics manufacturers regarding battery safety, and for *not* issuing a call for national safety regulation.

Grace-Marie Turner reports, "Innovation In The Health Care Sector Marches Forward".

Good News On Personal Genetic Testing

People can and do use their personal genetic data appropriately.

 From the 5/17/2012 NIH News, "NIH-led study finds genetic test results do not trigger increased use of health services":

People have increasing opportunities to participate in genetic testing that can indicate their range of risk for developing a disease. Receiving these results does not appreciably drive up or diminish test recipients' demand for potentially costly follow-up health services, according to a study performed by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and colleagues at other institutions.

(Read the full text.)

If people wish to pay to know their genomic data, they should be allowed to in order to help them manage their lives and their health better.

Related: "Should You Be Allowed to Know What’s in Your DNA?" (PJMedia, 7/15/2010)

Reliability of Clinical Practice Guidelines?

I haven't read any more on this yet, but this abstract caught my eye: "A critical evaluation of oncology clinical practice guidelines", to be presented at the 2012 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Summary: Researchers reviewed 168 clinical practice guidelines for treatment of 4 common cancers (breast, lung, colon, prostate).
 
None (i.e., 0) of them met IOM (Institute of Medicine) standards for reliability or trustworthiness.

 I'm just glad mandated use of practice guidelines isn't being imposed by ObamaCare. Oh, wait...

Wolf Unleashed

Dr. Milton Wolf begins a new video series at the Daily Caller.

Here's the first installment:


And feel free to check out his blog!

Hsieh Forbes OpEd: Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?

The Forbes website has published my latest OpEd, "Just Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?" (5/15/2012)

The theme is that America needs market-based health reforms such as Health Savings Accounts which reduce costs while preserving quality medical care, not government-mandated "bundled payments" which will harm patients and literally set a price on human life.

Here is the opening:

What simple health care reform has reduced medical costs by up to 30%, while preserving quality of care? Hint: It's not government price controls or mandatory health insurance. Rather, it's letting patients decide how to spend their own health care dollars...

(Read the full text of "Just Who Should Control Your Healthcare Spending?")

I'm honored to appear on the Forbes website, and I'd like to thank readers who have shared this piece via Facebook, Twitter, blogging, e-mail, etc.

Quick Links: Scherz, Catron

A couple of good pieces that hit my news feeds today.

1) Hal Scherz, MD: "The War Against Doctors" (Townhall.com)

Dr. Scherz notes:

At a time when it is trendy to invoke the term “war” against various groups, such as the contrived, GOP “war against women” or “war against seniors”, it may appear trite to say that there is a war against doctors; but there is. This has been going on for decades and cannot be blamed on President Obama or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but sadly, both have facilitated an escalation of this war...

2) David Catron, "Obama's Contempt for the Voters" (American Spectator)

David Catron also pointed out something I missed from a few days ago.  Obama's latest campaign ad running in some swing states trumpets various "accomplishments" ("the resurgence of the U.S. auto industry, killing of Osama bin Laden, end of the Iraq War") but curiously does not mention ObamaCare.

This is all the more reason to keep health care on the front burner of public discussion, rather than distractions such as candidates' eating dogs or purported high school misbehaviour.

Heib: ObamaCare and the Road to Serfdom

Dr. Lee Heib of AAPS chats with John Stossel on "ObamaCare and the Road to Serfdom":

Roy: Will Buying Health Insurance Across State Lines Reduce Costs?

Avik Roy asks, "Will Buying Health Insurance Across State Lines Reduce Costs?"

Short answer: It should, but it may take time for a true national market to ramp up and costs to fall accordingly.

Hence, one should be careful about preliminary studies that purportedly show no decrease in costs when limited intrastate purchases are allowed.