There is an article at Bloomberg.com regarding the health care provisions in the current stimulus bill.  The article is written by Betsy McCaughey.  Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version.  These are the problem areas:

The wording is that the new rules apply to “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479).  A federal system will be set up to electronically track all medical treatment you receive.  That’s not a totally awful idea because it would probably save a lot of time in emergency situations.

There will be a new federal bureau, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, that will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective.  The goal of this entity is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). 

According to the article:

“Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties.  “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)”

The article further points out:

“Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).”

No person over the age of 45 should support this bill.  See previous stories on this website about the suffering of people under nationalized health care.