Ridiculous, right? But that has not stopped the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Senator Coburn, a former Lt. Governor of New York and miscellaneous right wing radio talk show hosts and Fox News from making some outrageous charges about two relatively benign and wonky features of the Stimulus Bill: 1) Funding for modernization of health care information and 2) Funding to do research into what medical treatments work and what do not.
It may have started with an article by Betsy McCaughey, a former Lt. Governor of New York, known for her ability to take things out of context, who claimed that the Stimulus Bill was going to force doctors to do what the federal government tells them to do in terms of treatment. She conflates the two provisions of the bill -- health information and research on what works. And her war cry has been picked up by the right wing in a hysterical way -- Trouble in River City and that starts with T and that rhymes with G -- GROSS DISTORTION.
What are the facts? Does anyone care about the facts? They are simple. This so-called Federal Health IT Coordinator was actually established by President Bush in 2004. His office is not a new bureaucracy. It was a Republican idea. And the money in the Stimulus Bill expands that activity to help hospitals and doctors around the country turn their paper records into electronic ones.
As for comparative effectiveness research -- , as Ezra Klein of the American Prospect points out, probably only about 30% of what we do in medical care has solid evidence that shows that the treatment actually works. The money for CE is meant to stimulate more information about what works and make that information available to patients and doctors. In fact, in a press statement from the Senate Finance committee, it is made completely clear that this information may NOT be used by Medicare to make coverage decisions.
Q: Can the government use the results of this research to tell me, or my doctor, what tests and treatments I can or cannot have?
A: Absolutely not. In fact, the Senate bill specifically prohibits the government from making any coverage decisions based on this research, or even from issuing guidelines that would suggest how to interpret the research results. The sole aim is to disseminate the results of the research to the public, so that patients and their doctors can make the best decisions for their specific situations, together.
Q: Will this bill allow the government to apply the results of comparative effectiveness research to deny me end-of-life care or medicines that I choose? A: Absolutely not. In fact, the Senate bill specifically prohibits the government from making any coverage decisions based on this research, or even from issuing guidelines that would suggest how to interpret the research results. The sole aim is to disseminate the results of the research to the public, so that patients and their doctors can make the best decisions for their specific situations, together.
If you are interested in pursuing the facts, the bill and its amendments are available online.