Fear More than the Mandate in Health Care Reform

The June 13th issue of USA Today (or as I prefer--Useless News Today) had a cover story entitled, "Calcium, vitamin D benefits disputed (for some unknown reason this newspaper does not use capital letters in their titles)." This article quoted the findings of the august U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded that "existing research was insufficient to assess the risks or benefits of taking vitamin D--with or without calcium to prevent cancer in adults." Note this is based on a literature review not primary research.

You may recall that this is the same group that told us in 2011 that women between 50-74 years of age did not need annual mammograms; and in 2012, that men did not need PSAs to find prostate cancer in the early stages.  Why?  It grows so slow, why treat it?  Too expensive, little return...unless it is your prostate or your husband's or your father's...

The health care reform legislation gave the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force the power to decide what qualifies as evidence as the PPACA moves us to the point where insurance and the government will only pay for evidence-based health care services.

In short, if the research is inconclusive then you don't get the service. Think carefully about all the treatments and cures we now benefit from that are not clearly proven by research--bone marrow transplants for certain cancers, off label uses of certain drugs, the accidental discovery of treatment side effects that improve the quality of life for patients with a disease for which it was not meant to be used. Then think carefully about this as a slippery slope issue--do you need a prosthetic limb when a wheelchair or walker will do as well at getting you around? After all the wheelchair costs $1000 and the walker costs $200. Are you worth the $5000- $10000 for the prosthesis? How many preventive service could that pay for? After all, you've already lost that limb.

Do you need a hip replacement at 75 years old? Society can immunize 500 children for the price of your hip replacement.

Who are these people who have been empowered to make decide your health care fate? They are a panel of academic-based physicians and one medical products vendor. Not one is a physician in private practice. A physician not based a facility dependent on government $s to support their practice and research.

Why are they now supported by a division of the federal government call the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHCRQ)? When you pass a bill with 1000s of pages you can hide a lot. When Sarah Palin said death panels and everyone laughed...well, maybe not death. But this group will decide how valuable you are to our society... and the acceptable cost of your quality of life. Hey, old guy! Are you earning wages through an approved government activity? Just golfing and playing with your grandchildren? Then give back that hip!

Conservative Black Barbie has to apologize to my readers for being away for so long.  All I have wanted to do is stand and walk. But I am back-- tomorrow "Mayor Nutter and YOU!