Government Takeover of Health Care is About Absolute Control Over the Population

One of the latest rumors to circulate on the internet about the Obamacare nightmare is that it will require all Americans to undergo BMI (Body Mass Index) screening by 2014. Presumably, the BMI results will be used to ration health care in some manner as finite numbers of doctors, nurses, and hospitals struggle to cope with unlimited demand for their services. A document named HIT (Health Information Technology) Standards purports to show Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ new certification standards for electronic health records (EHRs). Further, the stimulus bill states that the National Coordinator shall “update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan” with “utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.” This constituted the basis for Sebelius’ new EHR standard. On page 61 in The Code of Federal Regulations Part 170 it states that EHRs will calculate BMIs. An additional document refers to certification criteria for EHRs and specifically shows that BMI will be part of the vital signs included in EHRs. Therefore, it appears that the rumor is true as far as the claims that Obamacare will require an EHR for all Americans and that the EHR will be required to include a calculation for BMI. - Healthcare Reform Law Mandates Biometric Screening and Electronic Health Records by 2014

U.S. Taxpayers Are Funding Their Own Enslavement

The plan to reshape America into an electronic surveillance society is being implemented through the $838 billion stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, less than one month after Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the U.S. on January 20, 2009.

To prepare the U.S. for a cashless society where only electronic transactions will take place, the federal government is using stimulus funds to erect cellphone towers and to expand the National Broadband Plan into rural areas. In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission began subsidizing cell phones for low-income households.

NFC-enabled mobile phones will be used to replace everything from credit cards and loyalty cards to bus and train tickets, library cards, door keys, and even cash.

In addition, stimulus funds also are being used as Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments to encourage early adoption by medical providers of electronic health records — language in the stimulus bill calls for “the utilization of an electronic health record (EHR) for each person in the United States by 2014” [note that this initiative calling for an EHR for every American suspiciously came before any bill was sponsored in Congress to overhaul health care and mandate that every American purchase health insurance].

These electronic health records will follow each American from birth to death, and include information about each person’s race, ethnicity and medical history.

ObamaCare, signed into law on March 22, 2010, mandates that by 2014 almost every American must prove to the IRS that he or she is enrolled in a government-approved health plan, giving the federal government the authority to oversee the medical decisions made between doctors and patients and giving the feds access to patients' electronic medical records (absent of proof of government-approved insurance, the IRS will impose a "penalty" of 2.5% of income by 2016 or $695 a year, whichever is greater).

Predicting a Religious Revival in 2014

Healthcare Economist
August 12, 2011

The Healthcare Economist predicts a religious revival in 2014. Let me be more specific, in January 2014. How do I know this? Am I a religious man? Has God spoken to me?

Let’s just say I have a certain insight. In 2014, the individual mandate goes into effect. All individuals must buy health insurance or else they will pay a tax penalty to the federal government. Well…not all individuals. Certain people with religious objections would not have to get health insurance. [American Indians, illegal immigrants, or people in prison would also not have to buy insurance].

The Amish and Old Order Mennonites, for instance, do not have to buy insurance through a ‘religious conscience’ exception. Will health reform lead to an increase in the number of Amish Americans in 2014?

The Serious Tracking of Americans Begins

Economic Policy Journal
July 16, 2010

They have passed the health bill, they have passed the financial regulations bill, and they have snuck stuff into the stimulus package bills. They are going to track your money and your body. Here’s the first few things they are doing. This is step one. It will only get worse from here.

According to numismaster.com:

…the Health Care Bill mandates, starting on January 1, 2012, federal law will require coin and bullion dealers to report to the Internal Revenue Service all gold and silver coin purchases and sales greater than $600.

No, that is not an error; they tacked the gold coin tracking regulations into the health bill. They are just tacking stuff on wherever they can.

As for your body, you will be required to have an “electronic health record” by 2014. They snuck this into one of the “stimulus” bills. The electronic record will include an obesity rating. The information will be required to be on a “national exchange” with only secure access (Hah!). Why the F does your obesity rating have to be on a national exchange? This is a tip off to how micro-managed they are going to attempt to run your life.

Keep in mind that the health bill and financial “reform” bill are thousands of pages, with much of the details left up to the new agencies to fill in. Obama is appointing major league interventionists to head these agencies. They are completely clueless as to how an economy works. Their regs will be over the top. It will stifle America in so many ways, it is difficult to imagine.

I was in East Berlin the year before the Wall came down. I saw what constant monitoring and micro-management did to people. It is not pretty. The gray, the drab, the despair was everywhere. When you can only take orders and wait for approvals and are constantly watched, it saps the life out of you.

America is going to be changing and the government is going to try and watch you and monitor your vitals, as if you were a lab rat, as it does the changing.

It is not going to be pretty.

Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law

Electronic Health Records and the $814 Billion Economic Stimulus Package

Until recently, with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, (ARRA) providers were expected to take the full risk of investing in healthcare IT. Notably, healthcare payers, such as the government through Medicare, also have potential for significant cost savings if providers adopt EHR systems.

The HITECH Act, part of the 2009 economic stimulus package (ARRA) passed by the US Congress, aims at inducing more physicians to adopt EHR. Title IV of the act promises maximum incentive payments for Medicaid to those who adopt and use "certified EHRs" of $63,750 over 6 years beginning in 2011. Eligible professionals must begin receiving payments by 2016 to qualify for the program. For Medicare the maximum payments are $44,000 over 5 years. Doctors who do not adopt an EHR by 2015 will be penalized 1% of Medicare payments, increasing to 3% over 3 years. In order to receive the EHR stimulus money, the HITECH act (ARRA) requires doctors to show "meaningful use" of an EHR system. As of June 2010, there are no penalty provisions for Medicaid.

Health information exchange (HIE) has emerged as a core capability for hospitals and physicians to achieve "meaningful use" and receive stimulus funding. Healthcare vendors are pushing HIE as a way to allow EHR systems to pull disparate data and function on a more interoperable level[citation needed].

Starting in 2015, hospitals and doctors will be subject to financial penalties under Medicare if they are not using electronic health records.

Healthcare Reform Law Mandates Biometric Screening and Electronic Health Records by 2014

There would be profound changes in the practice of medicine. Overall, medicine would be much more tightly controlled. All health care delivery would come under tight control. Medical care would be closely connected to work. If you don't work or can't work, you won't have access to medical care. The days of hospitals giving away free care would gradually wind down, to where it was virtually non-existent. Costs would be forced up so that people won't be able to afford to go without insurance. Your medical care would be paid for by others. Therefore, you would gratefully accept, on bended knee, what was offered to you as a privilege. Your role being responsible for your own care would be diminished. Access to hospitals would be tightly controlled and identification would be needed to get into the building. The security in and around hospitals would be established and gradually increased so that nobody without identification could get in or move around inside the building. Theft of hospital equipment would be 'allowed,' and reports of it would be exaggerated, so that this would be the excuse needed to establish the need for strict security until people got used to it. Anybody moving about the hospital would be required to wear an identification badge with a photograph and telling why he was there, employee or lab technician or visitor or whatever. This is to be brought in gradually, getting everybody used to the idea of identifying themselves - until it was just accepted. This need for ID to move about would start in small ways: hospitals, some businesses, but gradually expand to include everybody in all places! It was observed that hospitals can be used to confine people and for the treatment of criminals. This did not mean, necessarily, medical treatment. - The New Order of the Barbarians: Planning the Control Over Medicine, Dr. Lawrence Dunegan, 1988

Corporate Wellness Programs Require Biometric Screenings

Viverae Health Network Blog
October 10, 2011

Many corporate health programs are not reaching their full potential because they don't have the necessary data to measure their effectiveness. How does a company determine if their wellness program in worth the investment?

According to Mark Head, CSO at Viverae, ROI has traditionally been difficult to measure because the market continues to evolve and the biggest single driver of ROI is participation. According to Head,

"You can have the best wellness program in the world, but if it only reaches 20% of your people, you will not see an impact to your health plan costs."

Measuring Wellness ROI requires the right mix of products, incentives and program requirements:

•Understand risk with a Health Risk Assessment and
•Biometric Screening
•Provide the right incentive
•Implement an engagement-based program

True ROI in Corporate Wellness Programs requires engagement on the part of the employees in order to reduce risk and improve employee health.

For more information on Viverae's visit our information on Corporate Health and Wellness Solutions by Viverae.

Emanuel Requires City Workers Enrollment in Wellness Program or Pay Higher Premiums

NBC
September 16, 2011

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is giving city workers an important health choice: enroll in a new wellness plan, expected to be unveiled Friday, or pay a higher premium. The price if they don't enroll: $50 a month.

The program includes an initial screening that focuses on preventative care for asthma, heart disease and diabetes. City employees would then receive wellness training to achieve long-term health goals, including weight loss.

Smokers wouldn't be penalized, but they would be encouraged to quit. Advisers overseeing the program will monitor progress on a bimonthly basis, and those who reach their goals could see their health care premiums reduced.

"We will help you be a good steward for your health," Emanuel said Friday, "but if you choose not to, you'll pay that price and that is the price you'll have to pay."

The mayor believes the program will help cut the annual $500 million bill for health care for city employees.

"We are going to implement a citywide wellness plan for city employees," Emanuel confirmed at a recent press conference, "because health care costs for the city are being driven by 10 percent a year, and we're not seeing revenue grow that way."

Most city unions have signed on to the agreement, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, except the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 10,000 city employees.

The FOP says its members have different health concerns and it doesn't want members to pay higher premiums if they decide not to enroll in the program.

But Emanuel says the program is a necessary step to getting healthcare costs under control.

"You can't ask the taxpayers to pay for a healthcare problem that you can manage and do a good job," Emanuel said. "You can do that with cholesterol, you can do that through diabetes, you can do that through smoking, through heart, blood pressure. Every one of those is manageable."

Can Your Company Require a Biometric Health Screening in Order to Continue Insurance Coverage?

Yahoo Answers
March 2, 2011

My spouse has worked for the same company for the past 15 years. The company seems to be forcing the issue of a biometric health screening. Under the heading of “Is this mandatory?” it says..

”For salaried employees, in order to participate in the 2010 Medical Plans you are required to go through the on-site biometric screen process, and the online Health Risk Assessment. If a salaried employee chooses not to participate in either the Biometric Screen, or the online Health Risk Assessment, they will not be eligible for 2010 Medical Insurance, and you will receive COBRA notification to your home if you were previously participating in the medical plans”

Is this crap legal? Can a company terminate your insurance for not completing this so called health assessment?

tonalc2
Yes. Welcome to the wonderful world of risk-based, profit-driven health coverage.

DAR
A company has no legal duty to give insurance at all, generally. In states where it does it MAY be illegal (for companies of a certain size) but I’m pretty sure you would have to take it to court, and the government wants EVERYONE’s private records online, 4th amendment or not (look at Obamacare); so I think you’d have a hard time with it. Is there an implication you won’t be covered if you have preexisting conditions? Because if that is the case, it may not satisfy legal standards IF there are legal standards. Note that there often are not, particularly for small companies.

Does Obamacare Require BMI Screening?

Examiner.com
July 19, 2010

One of the latest rumors to circulate on the internet about the Obamacare nightmare is that it will require all Americans to undergo BMI (Body Mass Index) screening by 2014. Presumably, the BMI results will be used to ration health care in some manner as finite numbers of doctors, nurses, and hospitals struggle to cope with unlimited demand for their services.

To find the truth, I examined the full text of HR 3590, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as its companion bill HR 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. This takes some time, even scanning with the search function on a browser, since the HR 3590 contains a whopping 906 pages and HR 4872 adds an additional 55 pages. That is quite a number of dead trees for a law that is supposed to simplify and lower the cost of health care.

I conducted my examination by searching both documents for “bmi.” This resulted in a large number of hits, but only two referred to “Body Mass Index.” The majority were some form the word “submit,” which says a lot about Obamacare in itself.

1. The first reference is in section 2703 State Option to Provide Health Homes for Enrollees with Chronic Conditions on page 203. BMI is mentioned here as one of the medical conditions that defines the term “chronic condition” (specifically a BMI over 25). There is no mention of mandatory screening for BMI.


2. The second reference to BMI was in section 4004 Education Outreach Campaign Regarding Preventive Benefits on page 428. In this section, BMI is mentioned as one of the factors that people will use to determine their disease risk on a website. Again, there is no mention of mandatory BMI screening.

The second bill, HR 4872, contained several references to “submit,” but no references to Body Mass Index.

At this point, I was ready to declare the mandatory BMI screening a hoax.

Just before I published this article, however, someone pointed me in the direction of a document called HIT (Health Information Technology) Standards 170.302. This document purports to show Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ new certification standards for electronic health records (EHRs). Further, a CNS News report (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/69436) refers to section 3001 Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the stimulus bill, rather than the Obamacare law itself.

Section 3001 in Part C Duties of the National Coordinator Subpart 3 paragraph (a) (ii) states that the National Coordinator shall “update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan” with “utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.” This constituted the basis for Sebelius’ new EHR standard.

On page 61 (of 228) in The Code of Federal Regulations Part 170 (http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17210_PI.pdf) it states that EHRs will calculate BMIs. An additional document (http://healthcare.nist.gov/docs/170.302.e.2_BMI_v0.2_fulldoc.pdf) refers to certification criteria for EHRs and specifically shows that BMI will be part of the vital signs included in EHRs.

Therefore, it appears that the rumor is true as far as the claims that Obamacare will require an EHR for all Americans and that the EHR will be required to include a calculation for BMI. The speculative claim that the BMI will be used to ration health care is so far unsubstantiated. I will leave it up to the reader to decide whether and how much to be alarmed by the BMI requirement.

I will say that it is extremely likely that Obamacare will result in health care rationing. Massachusetts enacted what President Obama called an “essentially identical” plan in 2006 and the result has been skyrocketing costs (http://bit.ly/dvTxyU). Rapidly increasing demand with a static level of supply led to sharply increasing costs. To deal with these increasing costs, Governor Deval Patrick enacted price controls in the form of denying insurance companies to increase rates.

Jon Kingsdale, who directed in Massachusetts’ version of Obama’s health insurance exchanges, said recently,

"If you're going to do health-care cost containment, it has to be stealth. It has to be unsuspected by any of the key players to actually have an effect."

He further stated that:

The solution to the problem was finding a “significant systematic way of pushing back on the health-care system and saying, 'No, you have to do with less'” (http://bit.ly/dvTxyU).

In other words, the government will have to quietly ration care.

This shows the ultimate importance of efforts to defeat Obamacare. If you value your health care, vote for candidates who will repeal and defund the new law. Also support state and local candidates who will support efforts such as the lawsuit by Georgia and several other states against the law.

Reform the reform!

Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing

CorporateWellnessIncentive.com
October 26, 2008

Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing means better heath risk assessment baselines and better security

“Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing” is a hot phrase these days, but it can help your workers with health management, too. When the pundits talk about Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing, they’re usually referring to retinal scanners, fingerprint readers, and other high-tech security measures. However, if you trace the phrase “Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing” back to its roots, it refers to the measurement of unique human physical and behavioral characteristics.

Corporate Health Promotion Programs are of critical importance to the modern business. As a result, Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing should be one of the tools in the arsenal of a forward-thinking organization.

Onsite Health Screening and Biometric Testings aren’t just a “feel-good” measure for your employees. Assessments of employee health help your workers to prioritize their well-being, which results in happier, more productive employees.

Health risk assessments also build your database of employee biometric data.

Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing, when handled worksite by our experienced professionals, is hassle-free and smoothly organized. The biometric data we collect then can be stored digitally for years or even decades, helping you and your workers build better health risk assessment baselines that you can use to analyze workers fitness and the efficacy of your corporation’s Health and Productivity Programs. Collected biometric data can even allow an employee’s doctor to assess that individual’s health over many years, helping him or her spot trends and diagnose disease.

Onsite Employee Health Screening and Biometric Testing extends to a wide variety of health risk tests, including measurements of blood pressure, blood type, body fat, substance abuse, and susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Collecting biometric data for security purposes – like fingerprints, facial recognition imprints, or hand geometry – can be dovetailed with our health tests to minimize workflow disruption.

What Is a Biometric Screening?

eHow.com
March 28, 2011

A biometric screening is a short health examination that determines the risk level of a person for certain diseases and medical conditions. Many employers and universities encourage staff or students to complete this type of health screening so they can start thinking about their health and pursue treatment if needed.

Purpose

• A biometric screening is a general health check that can identify any significant cardiovascular or nervous system problems. This health check provides several biometric measures including: cholesterol levels for full lipid panel and glucose; blood pressure; blood glucose levels and also includes a measurement of height, weight and body mass index (BMI). Results are typically available within a few days after the screening, and are kept confidential.

Significance

• The biometric screening can be one of several components of a complete health and wellness check. Most doctors and clinics perform a biometric screening as part of a wellness program that includes the completion of a health risk assessment (HRA) questionnaire, and a consultation. Results of the biometric screening can help to identify various diseases or health problems, and allow the patient to work with their physician to lower their health risks for certain conditions.

Components

• The typical biometric screening test can take up to 15 minutes, and is performed at a physician's clinic, or on site at an employment facility or college campus. It can consist of all or some of the following screening tests: carotid artery ultrasound screening; blood pressure check; blood draw; diabetes screening; and cholesterol screening.

Types

• The blood pressure screening is completed with a standard blood pressure check. The blood test is conducted by drawing a vial of blood; patients are required to fast for a short period of time before having blood drawn. The diabetes screening is performed by measuring glucose levels in the blood from the blood test. The cholesterol screening is performed with a "finger-stick" test that measures full lipid and glucose levels. The carotid artery ultrasound test determines the risk factor of having a stroke. This test measures how much plaque has accumulated in the arteries.

Benefits

• Biometric screenings allow the patient to learn about her current health status, and determine her risk for common diseases including diabetes, heart disease, asthma and other medical conditions. The physician or nurse conducting the tests can review the results of the screening with patients and follow up to do further tests, or recommend a treatment plan or wellness program based on immediate needs.

FCC Releases U.S. National Broadband Plan

Information Policy
March 20, 2010

...Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the executive summary for the long-awaited document, Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan, which lays out the regulator's goals in enhancing broadband availability, and the methods for achieving those goals.

The report cites benefits including improved healthcare, education and training, entrepreneurship, civic participation, and energy-efficient smart grids as driving the attempt to improve broadband access to reach the 100 million Americans without home internet services.

It also notes the still-existing need for a nationwide public safety mobile broadband network with funding of up to US$6.5 billion over the next 10 years.

The plan is positioned as being budgetary-neutral, with funds coming from spectrum auctions, improved government efficiencies, economic stimulus effects, and the reallocation of existing funds.

There are six long-term goals for the next decade, including connecting 100 million homes at 100 Mbps; 1-Gbps services to anchor institutions (schools, hospitals, government buildings), leading global mobile innovation with fast and extensive networks; access for all to affordable, robust broadband, and the means and skills to subscribe; a nationwide, interoperable public safety network; and tracking and management of real-time energy consumption...

FCC Preparing National Broadband Plan

Federal Computer Week
April 8, 2009

The Federal Communications Commission has launched a 13-month effort to develop a national broadband plan as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the commission announced in a news release today.

The FCC must deliver the plan to Congress by Feb. 17, 2010, a schedule that overlaps with the deadlines for distributing stimulus broadband grants. Congress directed that economic stimulus funding of $7.2 billion for national broadband expansion is to be allocated starting in the current fiscal year and completed by September 2010.

But at least one policy expert believes the timing should not be a major concern because the FCC has recently upgraded its data for assessing the current status of broadband deployment throughout the nation, a critical factor which will help target the broadband grant funding to where it is most needed and avoid haphazard planning.

“The new data is a dramatic improvement,” said Chris Riley, policy counsel for Free Press, a nonprofit organization advocating national broadband. “Now they have information on how many subscribers there are to each speed of broadband in each census tract.”

The new data will help the Agriculture and Commerce departments distributing the grants maintain up-to-date information and avoid waste and mistargeted funding, he said.

“They can be effective in distributing the broadband grants to the rural, undeserved areas,” Riley said.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service are preparing to make broadband grant applications available. They held a series of public meetings in March to collect opinions on how to structure the broadband grant programs.

2009 Economic Stimulus Package and Electronic Health Records (EHR)

The Obama administration’s signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), with its $19 billion in stimulus funds for healthcare IT, is the most expansive effort to date. It includes a menu of grants to states, Medicare and Medicaid incentives for hospitals and physician practices, and a timetable for imposing penalties for non-adopters of EHR after 2015. - Healthcare Electronic Records Technology and Government Funding: Improving Patient Care?, OmniMD

Stimulus Marketing

The Department of Health and Human Services has been given $19 billion in incentives to move the healthcare community toward full utilization of electronic health records. The goal for this stimulus funding is to help 90% of doctors and 70% of hospitals adopt EHR within 10 years.

When will the money be available?

In the early years, hospitals and physicians offices that are early adopters of the technology will receive annual bonuses through Medicaid. Beginning in 2015, providers who have not adopted the technology will see reduced Medicare payments. After 2015, the amount of reduced Medicare payments will increase annually. The same type of incentives will be available to Medicaid providers.

Funding will be determined by formula with each qualifying hospital getting a base amount of $2 million. Hospitals will have up to 4 years to become “meaningful” users of EHR.

This segment of funding also includes $2 billion to create a medical record database for the entire country. These funds will be provided to the states on a grant basis and can include training grants to hospitals, doctors and other providers, university health education programs, public health departments, community health centers, and any other entity that provides healthcare to underserved citizens.

Who will decide what to purchase?

Hospitals will likely have an EHR team comprised of the Chief Information Officer, IT Director, HIPAA Compliance Director, and Medical Records Director. The office manager is a key contact at physicians’ offices because they act as a hub for the exchange of information.

The $2 billion designated to create a national database will likely involve Public Health Directors and Primary Care Directors as decision makers

Health IT & Electronic Health Records

The two major areas of new health IT funding include:

• Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to "jump start" electronic health record (EHR) adoption and spur the development of the national health information infrastructure


• Incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems to assist providers and organizations in adopting certified EHR technology

Electronic Health Records:

The Department of Health and Human Services has been given $19 billion in incentives to move the healthcare community toward full utilization of electronic health records. The goal for this stimulus funding is to help 90% of doctors and 70% of hospitals adopt EHR within 10 years.

When will the money be available?

In the early years, hospitals and physicians offices that are early adopters of the technology will receive annual bonuses through Medicaid. Beginning in 2015, providers who have not adopted the technology will see reduced Medicare payments. After 2015, the amount of reduced Medicare payments will increase annually. The same type of incentives will be available to Medicaid providers.

Funding will be determined by formula with each qualifying hospital getting a base amount of $2 million. Hospitals will have up to 4 years to become “meaningful” users of EHR.

This segment of funding also includes $2 billion to create a medical record database for the entire country. These funds will be provided to the states on a grant basis and can include training grants to hospitals, doctors and other providers, university health education programs, public health departments, community health centers, and any other entity that provides healthcare to underserved citizens.

Who will decide what to purchase?

Hospitals will likely have an EHR team comprised of the Chief Information Officer, IT Director, HIPAA Compliance Director, and Medical Records Director. The office manager is a key contact at physicians’ offices because they act as a hub for the exchange of information.

The $2 billion designated to create a national database will likely involve Public Health Directors and Primary Care Directors as decision makers.

Government Funding, Technological Advances Transform Healthcare

“To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized.” – President Barack Obama, January 2009

By Barbara DePompa, Federal Computer Week
May 26, 2010

As the nation’s leaders grapple with the extent of healthcare reform measures, one thing has become increasingly clear — no matter how far reform measures go, it’s unlikely the U.S. will see a transformation in healthcare without the successful implementation of advanced technologies to reduce costs and improve the provision of healthcare services.

As David Blumenthal, M.D. and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Department of Health & Human Services said in a recent speech at a conference of the National Committee on Quality Assurance, making healthcare IT part of the accepted culture for providing healthcare isn’t far off.

“Medical students today are not likely to accept paper records as the standard for use in their profession, when electronic means of information exchange and recordkeeping already pervade the rest of their lives,” he explained.

Clearly, leveraging technology will improve decision making and make it quicker and easier for doctors and patients to send/receive records and speed the diagnosis, treatment of illnesses and accuracy of healthcare practices in the coming years.

“An evolution is taking place as we move from paper records to electronic ones in parallel with networking the information, or making it ‘interoperable,’” said Dr. Robert Wah, Vice President, CSC Government Health Services and Chief Medical Officer NPS — Civil and Health Services Group. Eventually, he continued, “we will be able to use the digital information for population analytics and personalized care.”

While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is credited with making the key downpayment on healthcare IT’s advancement, Wah said, there are many contributing elements to the current growth wave. Health IT will grow at a combined annual growth rate of 11 percent through 2013, according to consulting firm Scientia Advisors. The firm projects health IT will be the fastest growing segment of the $1 trillion global healthcare market, expanding from $35 billion in 2008 to more than $60 billion by 2013.

Transformational Elements

Key technological tools and/or services that will aid the government’s healthcare transformation include:

• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) — the conversion from paper to electronic medical records is seen as the crucial first step. Despite the pain involved in adapting EHR into the current workflows of physicians and other healthcare providers, recent surveys indicate 90 percent of doctors who adopted EHR were satisfied. Providers cite the avoidance of adverse drug events and duplicate tests among the key reasons they favor the use of EHRs.


• Health Information Exchanges (HIE) — the crucial networks that must develop across the country to aid in the exchange of all kinds of medical information, including EHRs. The federal Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to Health Information Technology has already rolled out funding for every state in increments from $4 million to $40 million, to plan for and implement statewide HIEs.


• Healthcare analytics tools — once information is digitized and networks established, healthcare providers will be able to analyze health data across an array of various populations to facilitate faster diagnosis and treatment. One example of this is in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS). CSC helped the CDC integrate data from more than 100 federal, state and local entities. Now the system is used to quickly identify and track infectious diseases and potential bioterrorism attacks. NEDSS also plays a vital role in the investigation of outbreaks and the monitoring of disease trends.

Each of the key healthcare IT elements produce enormous benefits, from improving individual patient care to reducing medical costs through the elimination of redundant tests. Providers gain the ability to securely exchange patient information, and can collect reminders of services due to facilitate e-prescribing, to speed prescription fulfillment and further reduce errors. Other important components of the ongoing healthcare transformation include the development of key industry standards for electronic records and the secure exchange of information online. (See related standards article, on page s4 of this special report.)

In the coming year, state and local governments are considered pivotal players.

“The states are tasked with playing a key role in securing and coordinating ONC funds, presenting a tremendous opportunity for visibly enhancing health IT and ultimately, patient care,” Wah said.

Over the past 12 years, CSC has been involved in numerous projects to understand and harmonize local, state and federal regulations and policies. With a health information policy framework used as the starting point for CSC’s HIE planning, the company helps government organizations focus on strong local accountability, as well as clear accounting for all disclosures of health information, which can be adapted to support each state’s requirements.

The growth of HIEs at the state/local level will likely be among the big stories of 2010. A wave of stimulus funding will kick in later in 2010, providing incentives for physician practices and hospitals able to demonstrate the ‘meaningful use’ of EHRs. Starting in October 2010, physicians will be able to apply for $44,000 from Medicare or $60,000 from Medicaid when they convert from paper to EHR systems.

“Healthcare improves when the people making decisions on care — physicians and other healthcare providers, as well as patients and their families — have good information.” – Dr. Robert Wah, Vice President, CSC Government Health Services

Also important will be the advancement of health insurance exchanges. CSC worked with the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority to establish the nation’s first health insurance exchange after Massachusetts enacted its universal coverage law. The authority, governed by an independent board and working closely with commercial payers in the state, worked with CSC to establish a brand separate from state government to help Massachusetts residents shop for coverage under the law. CSC created a separate web portal in less than six months. Several health reform proposals in Congress were based on the Massachusetts Connector model, calling for federal funding of states that create ‘gateways’ similar to the Massachusetts model.

Integrating health insurance providers into the mix will play an increasingly critical role in ongoing reform over the coming years, Wah said.

On the downside, sources said current stimulus spending may spread funds too thinly across numerous small projects, when it would likely be best to concentrate investments on a few larger implementations that are more likely to gain the traction/visibility that will build momentum to advance healthcare IT nationwide.

It’s increasingly clear, however that in the not too distant future, healthcare providers will want to invest in healthcare IT on their own, and electronic health records will become part of daily operational practice.

One day soon, “providers won’t expect federal subsidies for healthcare IT,” Blumenthal said.

Once medical information is migrated from paper to electronic medical records on an interoperable network, digitized information becomes a powerful thing. Healthcare organizations will be able to conduct population analyses and provide more personalized medical care.

“There will be an explosion in targeted information for treating patients,” Wah explained.

And that kind of information will drive costs down, while simultaneously improving the quality of patient care.

Health Bill a Transfer of Power, Kills the Constitution

A retired Constitutional lawyer has read the entire proposed 'healthcare bill.' Read his staggering conclusions.

The Truth About The Health Care Bills
By Michael Connelly
Retired Constitutional Attorney
March 24, 2010

Well, I have done it!

I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009.

I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying, the law does provide for:

• rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved,
• free health care for illegal immigrants,
• free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.

However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people and the businesses they own. (New World Order??)

The irony is that the Congress doesn't have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, of all of your personal healthcare, direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital. All of this is a protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not 'deemed acceptable' to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be 'tax' imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn't work because since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out of the original 10 in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn't stop there though.

The 9th Amendment that provides: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;

The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork, neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to "be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution." If I was a member of Congress, I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it, without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.

Mobile Phones Could Store Electronic Health Records, Boost Personal Health Monitoring
Medical Records on Your Cell Phone
Doctors, Hospitals to Exchange Electronic Medical Data with Middlemen without Patient's Consent
HHS to Make Grants for Prescription Monitoring Systems
HHS Awards $267M for Health IT Regional Centers
Recent Graduates Eye Health IT Jobs as Top Employment Option
Leveraging the Stimulus Funding to Accelerate EHR Adoption
Federal Government on the Fast Track to Implement Electronic Health Records
In Search of ... Health Information Exchange
Personal Health Records May Not Be So Personal
Personal Health Record Use on the Rise in U.S., Survey Finds
Most Hospital CIOs See EHR Adoption as a Top Priority, Survey Finds
Report: Health IT to Play Key Role in Health System Transformation
White House Cybersecurity Plan Will Aim to Protect Health Data
NHS 'Scaring Patients into Accepting Electronic Records Database'
Electronic Health Record Vendors Step Up Game in Preparation for Federal Stimulus Funding
Wisconsin Passes Law to Establish Statewide EHR Exchange System
Arizona County to Buy $10M EHR System to Boost Inmate Care
Biden, Sebelius Award $220M in Federal Stimulus Funds for Testing the Adoption of Health IT
How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers
Health IT Policy Panel Approves Certification Recommendations
Growing Urgency in Developing Healthcare IT Standards
Tracking Pandemics - A Closer Look at Healthcare Analytics
The 2010 Vision for Health Information Exchange
Government as the Health IT Security Standard
TeleHealth is Here, and It’s Growing
FCC, FDA, HHS also working on telehealth
VA sets the telehealth table
National Broadband Plan Promotes Health IT, Telemedicine
‘Death panels’ were an overblown claim — until now
USDA Provides $1.2B in Funds for Rural Broadband Internet Efforts
Effort to Widen U.S. Internet Access Sets Up Battle
New Health Care Law Dramatically Increases Premiums
Bill Gates Death Panels Tip of Iceberg
Major insurers to drop child policies ahead of coverage mandate
Double-digit Hikes for Some Medicare Drug Plans

Updated 9/25/10 (Newest Additions at End of List)