Health Freedom
Every American should have the right to choose how to maintain and improve his or her health.
We are at a defining moment in our country’s history. If a bill similar to that passed by the House and proposed in the Senate passes, it will mean a shift in power that may have profound implications on your ability to control your own health care.
This is because the more control is taken away from you and given to government bureaucrats (to approve health insurance plans, to approve procedures, approve practitioner categories, determine required vaccines, etc.), the more powerful those with money and existing power, become.
The current healthcare reform plans will appoint an “expert panel” to determine what kind of treatment Americans can get. We can be fairly certain that those industries with plenty of lobbying money (pharmaceutical, surgical, hospitals) will make out ok, but those without (chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists) will be left out of the game.
There may not be out-and-out conspiracy, but it is interesting to watch the money flow. For example, our tax dollars subsidize corn, one result being super-cheap high-fructose corn syrup is in almost any food you can buy. And a followup result is a surge in obesity and obesity-related diseases like diabetes.
The government My Pyramid that guides Americans in the healthy way to eat is of course highly influenced by farm industry lobbyists. So dairy and whole grains are well represented, but the fruit and vegetable producers don’t quite have the money to play this game.
But the real questions is how will the lobbying game affect what kind of healthcare you can (or must) receive. What if your government-paid doctor tells you you must get a vaccine that you do not want. Will you be allowed to refuse? What if your doctor, on the other hand, wants to give you a treatment that is not “approved”. Will he or she be allowed to do that?
Under a centralized healthcare plan, control of the U.S. medical system will be in the hands of several powerful groups, including the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, and the AMA. How much freedom and control you and I would have remains to be seen.