Healthcare Provisions in the Stimulus

(via Dannel) This is the first I've heard of the "European-style socialist" healthcare provisions included in the Senate Bill. Betsy McCaughey at Bloomberg thinks Daschle's hand is behind it - and used the stimulus as a Trojan horse.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”