One of my Civitas colleagues said my post about how HealthCare.gov is the opposite of Amazon missed one looming possibility. She said the Obamacare web site would be like an Amazon … that made you do a report on books you buy. Just to make sure you were reading the books the Washington experts said you should read.
I chuckled at that, but she said it was already happening: She’s getting letters asking why she hadn’t had certain tests done.
Of course. Your health insurance is no longer really yours. It’s the government’s, and if the government thinks you should have a certain test or treatment, well, who pays the piper calls the tune.
Here’s the twist: Health care can be hazardous to your health.
All treatments carry some risk — for, of course, every action has some potential risk. That includes going to the hospital. A new report indicates every year more than 200,000 people die from preventable mistakes in hospitals.
That includes tests we may take for granted; hospitals warn, Every medical test carries some degree of risk.
Plus, medical tests may be unnecessary, Consumer Reports says, noting that the “Congressional Budget Office says that up to 30 percent of the health care in the U.S. is unnecessary.”
For instance, if Dr. O thinks you need a CT scan? According to a Harvard Medical School publication, “It is estimated that radiation from CT scans now accounts for 1.5 percent of all cancers in the United States.” (The New York Times reports the same statistic.)
So when the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) tries to pressure you into taking a test, will you still be able to evaluate the need and the risks and make your own decision?
Now, of course there is a risk in delaying or shunning tests. The question is: Who decides, you or a bureaucrat in Washington? Will Obamacare refuse to pay for truly needed treatment?
That’s yet another problem with the ACA. These crucial decisions are being taken out of your hands. Are we willing to accept that?
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