First, he came for the bank executives.
But I wasn't a bank executive, so I kept silent.
Then he came for the auto executives.
But I wasn't an auto executive, so I kept silent.
Then he came for the doctors.
But I wasn't a doctor, so I kept silent.
Then he came for all the other executives,
But I wasn't one of those other executives, so I kept silent...
Who's next?
If there's a single person in the country deemed poorer than you, then eventually, you will be.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
It's Officially Over. My Goodbye to Medicine is Imminent.
This is what I've been talking about. Forced physician participation, in a program with draconian cuts in our reimbursement, by a committee that is shielded from our ability to petition it for a redress of grievances.
Who the hell do they think they are? Seriously. How unbelievably and excruciatingly arrogant of them to tell doctors whom they have to enter into doctor-patient relationships with, and to limit reimbursement by fiat without any chance of negotiation. By what right?
The text below. Even though I've expected it, the blow isn't softened. To paraphrase Kipling, I "see the things I gave my life to, broken". I will have to go Galt now. I haven't any choice.
Who the hell do they think they are? Seriously. How unbelievably and excruciatingly arrogant of them to tell doctors whom they have to enter into doctor-patient relationships with, and to limit reimbursement by fiat without any chance of negotiation. By what right?
The text below. Even though I've expected it, the blow isn't softened. To paraphrase Kipling, I "see the things I gave my life to, broken". I will have to go Galt now. I haven't any choice.
June 5, 2009
Concerns Grow as HSR Details Emerge
The latest information from Washington indicates that the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will introduce their proposal for health system reform (HSR) by the middle of this month. A separate bill from the Senate Finance Committee is also in the works.
Indications are the two separate aforementioned Senate bills will differ a great deal on a number of HSR issues, including the public plan element insisted upon by President Obama. The two bills will probably be combined into one piece of legislation and ready for Senate consideration in July. In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has committed to passing the House HSR bill by July 31.
Clearly, Congress and President Obama have an ambitious timetable for passing sweeping reforms this year. MASA leadership and lobbyists are continually working with Alabama’s Congressional Delegation on behalf of physicians as more HSR details emerge. From the currently available HSR information, MASA has a number of concerns with certain health reform proposals.
Despite President Obama’s insistence on a new public health insurance plan, developing a new plan for Americans who aren’t disabled and aren’t more than 65 isn’t the best solution for expanding coverage to the uninsured. The public plan option is also opposed by private insurers.
One of the most egregious proposals being discussed in Washington right now would mandate physician participation in the public plan if adopted. Physicians already face a 21 percent cut in Medicare payment rates on January 1, 2010, with steeper cuts coming over the next decade. To help pay for HSR, President Obama wants to cut an additional $200-$300 billion from both Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years, on top of the $300 billion cuts already in his proposed budget. Given Medicare’s history and its uncertain future, a similarly-styled public plan, particularly with mandated physician participation, would be devastating.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
MedPAC and the Last Straw
Okay. First a little history...
Medicare, the socialized medicine program designed to give sub-standard health care to our nation's elderly and infirm, pays doctors fees for their services.
These fees are clearly too low, having failed to keep pace with inflation, much less the rising costs of doing business in medicine.
Nevertheless, these fees are "negotiated" with doctors through a supposedly "independent" panel of idiots,called MedPAC, who have themselves traditionally been overseen by Congress.
Just to give you some idea : MedPAC suggested for years that all doctors were making too much money. In order to cut Medicare costs, then, they recommended that physician fees be cut by 21% this year. This would have driven most primary care doctors like myself right out of seeing Medicare patients. This would have been a tragedy, mostly for Medicare patients.
It was only through the lobbying efforts of physicians' groups that this draconian pay cut was (temporarily) avoided.
Enter Obama the Wise. He said today to Senators Baucus and Kennedy that MedPAC could "negotiate" the physician payment schedule under his new Obamacare plan. But wait for the punchline...
In order to "protect" the members of MedPAC from the corrupting influence of the lobbyists, Obama plans to move MedPAC to the Executive Branch, thereby insulating them from any "influence" from the outside.
Now the translation. The President will decide what doctors will be paid. There will be no negotiation. Resistance is futile.
"I'll quit seeing their patients!" you may cry in outrage, as I did. Ah, but not so fast....
Obama has promised to nationalize physician licensure. You will see their patients, at their price, and you will keep your filthy mouth shut, declares the Omnipotent Warlord Obama, or he will strip you of your ability to make a living. It's the gulag, with a fancy 21st-century twist.
Welcome to Socialzed Medicine fellow doctors. This is what I've been screaming about. Maybe you'll believe me now.
Medicare, the socialized medicine program designed to give sub-standard health care to our nation's elderly and infirm, pays doctors fees for their services.
These fees are clearly too low, having failed to keep pace with inflation, much less the rising costs of doing business in medicine.
Nevertheless, these fees are "negotiated" with doctors through a supposedly "independent" panel of idiots,called MedPAC, who have themselves traditionally been overseen by Congress.
Just to give you some idea : MedPAC suggested for years that all doctors were making too much money. In order to cut Medicare costs, then, they recommended that physician fees be cut by 21% this year. This would have driven most primary care doctors like myself right out of seeing Medicare patients. This would have been a tragedy, mostly for Medicare patients.
It was only through the lobbying efforts of physicians' groups that this draconian pay cut was (temporarily) avoided.
Enter Obama the Wise. He said today to Senators Baucus and Kennedy that MedPAC could "negotiate" the physician payment schedule under his new Obamacare plan. But wait for the punchline...
In order to "protect" the members of MedPAC from the corrupting influence of the lobbyists, Obama plans to move MedPAC to the Executive Branch, thereby insulating them from any "influence" from the outside.
Now the translation. The President will decide what doctors will be paid. There will be no negotiation. Resistance is futile.
"I'll quit seeing their patients!" you may cry in outrage, as I did. Ah, but not so fast....
Obama has promised to nationalize physician licensure. You will see their patients, at their price, and you will keep your filthy mouth shut, declares the Omnipotent Warlord Obama, or he will strip you of your ability to make a living. It's the gulag, with a fancy 21st-century twist.
Welcome to Socialzed Medicine fellow doctors. This is what I've been screaming about. Maybe you'll believe me now.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Healthcare-NOW!: Clueless
My favorite Single-Payer Marxists over at www.healthcare-now.org are cracking me up. Their entire front page is devoted to (1) whining about how Senator Baucus ignored them at the recent hearings and (2) whining about how the moderators at www.mybarackobama.com keep deleting their comments and suggestions about socializing healthcare (even more than it already is).
It's funny because they can't seem to make the connection. They want government to take over health care because (*chuckle*) the government will be so much more responsive to our concerns and so much more touchy-feely with us about our health than the current private system. They just can't get why they can't get Washington to listen to their concerns and suggestions, especially after Obama promised them the moon and stars. Hope and Change, after all.
Welcome to America, naive ones. Washington looks on all of us as their subjects - inconvenient masses of idiots they have to deal with to get elected, then take a hot shower to wash off our stench. They could not possibly care less about the sick, the infirm, the poor, or anyone else. The ONLY reason they'd ever support government health care is so that they could further consolidate their power.
Don't get me wrong. They definitely will socialize medicine in this country, and it will be the greatest disaster for liberty to date. They just won't do it for the reasons Healthcare-NOW! thinks. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on them. They are simply useful idiots, being manipulated by those in power. Still, they are a bit irritating in their self-righteousness.
I had thoroughly enjoyed pointing out the obvious logical flaws in their arguments, but it seems I'm being "moderated" - web-lingo for shutting me up. Tisk, tisk.
It's funny because they can't seem to make the connection. They want government to take over health care because (*chuckle*) the government will be so much more responsive to our concerns and so much more touchy-feely with us about our health than the current private system. They just can't get why they can't get Washington to listen to their concerns and suggestions, especially after Obama promised them the moon and stars. Hope and Change, after all.
Welcome to America, naive ones. Washington looks on all of us as their subjects - inconvenient masses of idiots they have to deal with to get elected, then take a hot shower to wash off our stench. They could not possibly care less about the sick, the infirm, the poor, or anyone else. The ONLY reason they'd ever support government health care is so that they could further consolidate their power.
Don't get me wrong. They definitely will socialize medicine in this country, and it will be the greatest disaster for liberty to date. They just won't do it for the reasons Healthcare-NOW! thinks. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on them. They are simply useful idiots, being manipulated by those in power. Still, they are a bit irritating in their self-righteousness.
I had thoroughly enjoyed pointing out the obvious logical flaws in their arguments, but it seems I'm being "moderated" - web-lingo for shutting me up. Tisk, tisk.
Not So Semper Fidelis
I spent four years on active duty as a U.S. Marine. They were four of the most difficult years of my life, but as is so often the case, I've found, they were also four of the most rewarding in retrospect. Call me a bit of a sucker, but I still get choked up when I hear Sousa marches, especially Semper Fidelis, affectionately known by Marines as "Six Bits". I still have quite a few friends in the Corps, and I think of them all the time, especially in these trying days. For over 225 years, the Marines have served with distinction and with honor, doing things others thought impossible, answering the call of their country without question. I've never been as proud to be a Marine as I am right now. The job they continue to do, whether or not one agrees with the mission they've been given, is one deserving of the highest respect and admiration.
The term Semper Fidelis is, itself, a bit of a trademark of the U.S. Marine Corps. I don't think anybody really knows when it started being used, but it is a term that is used with extreme pride by those of us proud to have earned the title Marine. It's Latin for "Always Faithful". We use it as a term of endearment and greeting to our brother and sister Marines. I always make sure to shake the hand of any Marine I meet, active or prior service. I look them directly in the eyes and say "Semper Fidelis".
It means a lot to me. It means that I would do almost anything to assist a fellow Marine in distress. It means that I would shudder at the thought of allowing a fellow Marine to suffer. And, perhaps most importantly, it carries with it a supreme responsibility. I strive to be worthy of my earned title of Marine at all times. I would feel an intense feeling of shame if I were to bring dishonor or bad reputation to the Marine Corps I love and respect so much, even after all these years.
There is another term we Marines use from time to time. It is "Once a Marine, Always a Marine". It's related to Semper Fidelis but is a bit different. It is a statement that once you have earned the title of Marine, nobody can ever take it away from you. Some old-timers even bristle if you ask them if they are an "ex-Marine" or a "former Marine". "Once a Marine, Always a Marine", they are likely to say, likely a bit perterbed.
It brings up an interesting question, though. Can a person willingly forfeit their Marine status through their actions? If a Marine comes out and speaks disparagingly of the Marine Corps, its members, its history, and so forth, wouldn't it be sort of understood that he or she no longer is being Semper Fidelis?
I find myself feeling ashamed of John Murtha in exactly this sense. His political career has led him to a point where he has chosen to libel Marines, accusing them of the most hideous forms of cruelty and most deviant war crimes imaginable, only to have those accused Marines be acquitted of all charges. He did this for the most despicable of reasons - cheap political points designed to benefit him directly. In short, he sold out. Never has Murtha recanted his hasty and now thoroughly discredited accusations. Never has he apologized. He apparently feels no sense of shame for dishonoring the title he himself once earned.
I don't know what the official stance of the Marine Corps is on this matter. I can only speak for myself. As a proud Marine who is horrified at the depths of depravity to which John Murtha has sunk, I find him to have displayed conduct that is unbecoming of any Marine.
I hereby renounce any ties between myself and John Murtha, and I strip him unilaterally of any rights or privileges that should attend his status as a Marine. I find him a despicable and thoroughly dishonorable human being. He is no longer faithful to us, and therefore, I shall henceforth no longer be faithful to him. He is no longer a Marine, as far as I'm concerned.
The term Semper Fidelis is, itself, a bit of a trademark of the U.S. Marine Corps. I don't think anybody really knows when it started being used, but it is a term that is used with extreme pride by those of us proud to have earned the title Marine. It's Latin for "Always Faithful". We use it as a term of endearment and greeting to our brother and sister Marines. I always make sure to shake the hand of any Marine I meet, active or prior service. I look them directly in the eyes and say "Semper Fidelis".
It means a lot to me. It means that I would do almost anything to assist a fellow Marine in distress. It means that I would shudder at the thought of allowing a fellow Marine to suffer. And, perhaps most importantly, it carries with it a supreme responsibility. I strive to be worthy of my earned title of Marine at all times. I would feel an intense feeling of shame if I were to bring dishonor or bad reputation to the Marine Corps I love and respect so much, even after all these years.
There is another term we Marines use from time to time. It is "Once a Marine, Always a Marine". It's related to Semper Fidelis but is a bit different. It is a statement that once you have earned the title of Marine, nobody can ever take it away from you. Some old-timers even bristle if you ask them if they are an "ex-Marine" or a "former Marine". "Once a Marine, Always a Marine", they are likely to say, likely a bit perterbed.
It brings up an interesting question, though. Can a person willingly forfeit their Marine status through their actions? If a Marine comes out and speaks disparagingly of the Marine Corps, its members, its history, and so forth, wouldn't it be sort of understood that he or she no longer is being Semper Fidelis?
I find myself feeling ashamed of John Murtha in exactly this sense. His political career has led him to a point where he has chosen to libel Marines, accusing them of the most hideous forms of cruelty and most deviant war crimes imaginable, only to have those accused Marines be acquitted of all charges. He did this for the most despicable of reasons - cheap political points designed to benefit him directly. In short, he sold out. Never has Murtha recanted his hasty and now thoroughly discredited accusations. Never has he apologized. He apparently feels no sense of shame for dishonoring the title he himself once earned.
I don't know what the official stance of the Marine Corps is on this matter. I can only speak for myself. As a proud Marine who is horrified at the depths of depravity to which John Murtha has sunk, I find him to have displayed conduct that is unbecoming of any Marine.
I hereby renounce any ties between myself and John Murtha, and I strip him unilaterally of any rights or privileges that should attend his status as a Marine. I find him a despicable and thoroughly dishonorable human being. He is no longer faithful to us, and therefore, I shall henceforth no longer be faithful to him. He is no longer a Marine, as far as I'm concerned.
Better Late than Never. I Guess.
The President finally made time in his busy Apology Tour of the motherland (the Moslem Middle East) to mention that he is "saddened" by the premeditated hate-murder of a 24-year-old Army Private fresh out of basic training.
It was a shame that it happened. I mean, it's no great tragedy, like the murder of Dr. Tiller, but nevertheless, thanks for your condolences, Mr. President. I'm sure it means a lot to the family.
Better get ready for more of this, folks. Those of you who voted for our esteemed Marxist leader in the hopes that we could genuflect and apologize our way out of all our world troubles should rest really easy. Clearly, the Moslem world just simply loves the heck out of us now. Problem solved, right?
Well done. I'm sure they'll eventually quit being mad at us. After all, they've only been mad at the Hebrews for 4 thousand years. I guess we've got time to wait.
It was a shame that it happened. I mean, it's no great tragedy, like the murder of Dr. Tiller, but nevertheless, thanks for your condolences, Mr. President. I'm sure it means a lot to the family.
Better get ready for more of this, folks. Those of you who voted for our esteemed Marxist leader in the hopes that we could genuflect and apologize our way out of all our world troubles should rest really easy. Clearly, the Moslem world just simply loves the heck out of us now. Problem solved, right?
Well done. I'm sure they'll eventually quit being mad at us. After all, they've only been mad at the Hebrews for 4 thousand years. I guess we've got time to wait.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Yawn...Still Waiting
Obama named a new Secretary of the Army this morning. Still either unmoved or unaware of the murder of an unarmed 24-year-old Army Private outside a Little Rock recruiting station.
Eric Holder still hasn't sent any Marshals to protect recruiting stations.
No civil rights protections for military service people, apparently.
Civil rights only count if you are a law-breaking late term abortionist.
Joined the military to serve your country in a constructive way? Big whoop. Want to be a hero? Terminate 60,000 lives by delivering viable infants, then puncturing their tiny skulls and sucking out their tiny innocent brains.
When you do that, making millions in the process, your murder is a national tragedy.
What despicable hypocrisy.
Eric Holder still hasn't sent any Marshals to protect recruiting stations.
No civil rights protections for military service people, apparently.
Civil rights only count if you are a law-breaking late term abortionist.
Joined the military to serve your country in a constructive way? Big whoop. Want to be a hero? Terminate 60,000 lives by delivering viable infants, then puncturing their tiny skulls and sucking out their tiny innocent brains.
When you do that, making millions in the process, your murder is a national tragedy.
What despicable hypocrisy.
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