Health care about to be nationalized

So you thought Clinton-care was defeated and discredited, huh?
Incrementally, one baby step at a time, politicians in Washington have
continued their long march to nationalize all medical and health
services provided in the United States. And they are about to take one
of those “great leaps forward” for which socialists are so proud and
famous.

With little fanfare and no media coverage, Health and Human Services
Secretary Donna Shalala announced earlier this month a plan to assign a
national identification number to every health-care provider in the
country.

“The national standard employer identifier will help eliminate
paperwork, simplify activities such as enrollment in health plans and
payment of health insurance premiums, and save money for consumers,”
said Shalala in making her announcement June 16. “This is good
government, and good sense.”

Now, before getting into the nitty-gritty details of this plan, or,
for heaven’s sake, the constitutionality, just ask yourself: When did
federal involvement in any activity ever reduce paperwork, simplify
things or save money?

The plan is a direct result of the passage of the 1996 Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as the
Kennedy-Kassebaum bill — a back-door legislative approach to inching us
to the same goal of nationalized health care Hillary Clinton envisioned
in 1994. It’s a perfect example of how, even after setback, ridicule and
humiliation, Big Government marches on, grabbing power and reducing
individual freedom with the help of both major political parties.

What the Shalala plan would do is establish the government’s ability
to track not only every health-care provider but every health-care
transaction between doctor and patient. The Kennedy-Kassebaum law
explicitly includes a clause establishing the federal government’s
exclusive “right” to unfettered and unlimited access to every patient’s
medical records. Shalala has developed the mechanism — an ID number
every doctor, nurse and dentist must use to document every service
provided to a patient.

Shalala has decided the best number — surprise, surprise — is the
health-care worker’s Social Security number or Federal Taxpayer
Identification Number. Remember when the government promised only to use
Social Security numbers for Social Security?

Mind you, the services tracked will not just be those in which
taxpayer funds are used. All transactions, no matter how private, must
be reported to the government under the new rules. The government may
use this information to decide, in its infinite wisdom, whether services
provided are truly necessary or not. Fines and penalties are prescribed
for such practices.

Are you ready to trust Big Brother with your medical secrets? When
will the American people awake from their stupor to comprehend the
liberties they are compromising? Is national debate no longer even
considered necessary before Washington is permitted to hijack personal
privacy and individual freedom?

Time is running out on this one. The deadline for comment on the new
Shalala rules is set for July 6. You can read the rules for yourself on
the Health and Human Services Web site
and e-mail your
comments to meet the deadline.

Oh, I know what they’ll tell you in Washington if you protest this
insanity. They’ll tell you this is just a “simplification” process — an
administrative change designed to promote efficiency and cost-savings.
Let them know you don’t buy it — that you’re not willing to sacrifice
your privacy and freedom at any cost.

But your responsibility as an American goes way beyond that. We’re
fighting a losing battle with the long arm of government — and this is
just one pathetic example.

Someone should inform Ted Kennedy, Nancy Kassebaum, Donna Shalala and
the rest of our “saviors” inside the beltway of what the Founding
Fathers had to say about government and its role in “protecting” us.

“Government is not reason,” George Washington wrote. “Government is
not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant
and a fearful master.”

Let me add a few other observations: Government is not efficient.
Government is not fair. Government is not just. Government cannot save
you money. And, most of all, government has no authority, no
justification and no right to interfere in or eavesdrop on the most
personal private decisions made between you and your doctor.

Get the government out of your doctor’s office. Get the government
out of your medical records. Get the government out of your private
life. If you don’t, everything our forefathers sacrificed to accomplish
with this noble American experiment in freedom will be lost.