Hsieh PJM OpEd: Is Obamacare's Fatal Flaw Taking Effect?

Yesterday's PJ Media has published my latest OpEd, "Is Obamacare's Fatal Flaw Taking Effect?"

I discuss how ObamaCare requires voluntary cooperation of people who will be harmed by the law -- which gives Americans a powerful weapon.  Don't be a willing accomplice to a law you don't support!

I'd also like to thank Dr. Megan Edison for allowing me to quote her.

Update: I'm also encouraged by the fact that some former supporters of the law appear to now be having second thoughts: "Unions break ranks on ObamaCare" (The Hill, 5/21/2013)

Trusting the Navigators?

WSJ: "Role of Health-Law 'Navigators' Under Fire":

At a private briefing with federal officials last month, committee aides say they were told there would be no criminal background checks for navigators or requirements that they hold a high-school diploma.

"Because navigators and assisters will have access to personal and sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and tax returns, we believe they should be held to the same hiring standard as U.S. Census and [Internal Revenue Service] employees," who get Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks, wrote Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), the chairman of the committee, and two other Republican members in a letter to the department.

In light of recent events, perhaps the government "navigators" should be held to even higher standards than IRS employees.

Catron on IRS and Medical Records

David Catron asks, "Has the IRS Already Seized Your Medical Records?"

I was particularly struck by this section:

You will note that the person from whom these records were stolen was not a doctor or a nurse, but a data analyst who was carrying around huge amounts of medical information on a laptop. And this is where you should begin to have real fears for your privacy. Your medical records, once the province of highly trained medical professionals, are now routinely accessed by all manner of individuals uninvolved in your medical treatment. And many of these individuals are not closely supervised by medical professionals. Indeed, many of the people who have access to your medical records are not supervised by anyone.

For example, if you visit the ER tonight, the hospital will send a claim to your insurance company. Before that happens, however, a diagnosis code must be assigned to your record. Who does that? Typically, it is someone in her pajamas who uses a laptop to remote into the hospital’s IT system from home after the kids are in bed. She is not a physician or a nurse, yet she peruses your records, interprets your doctor’s notes, and then chooses an ICD-9 code from a drop-down box. It is likely that no one employed at the hospital has ever met this person in the flesh. Hospitals increasingly connect with such contract coders via outside agencies.

Assuming this coder is completely honest and very productive, as are most of them, what happens if her eldest son is addicted to narcotics and knows that she has routine access to the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of thousands of people? He has a golden opportunity to commit identity theft. All he has to do is wait until she forgets to lock her screen when she gets up to toss a casserole into the oven or run to the bathroom. If he is computer savvy, and what adolescent isn’t, he can access and steal your information in a matter of minutes. Such opportunities arise every minute of every day, all across the nation.

The point here is not that electronic medical records are inherently bad. It is rather that, in their mad rush to pass Obamacare and the stimulus package, the President and his accomplices on Capitol Hill mandated clunky, insecure systems that can be abused by politicized government agencies, mismanaged by innocent but incompetent bureaucrats, or even breached by the kid next door...

(Read the full text of "Has the IRS Already Seized Your Medical Records?")

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.