
I wish I had a helmet like that.

The accidental blog of a semi-accidental ER doc living in the Pacific Northwest.


Posted by
shadowfax
at
10:07 PM
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More ominously, a man standing just beyond the TV cameras apparently suffered a heart attack 20 minutes after event began. Medical personnel from the Capitol physician's office -- an entity that could, quite accurately, be labeled government-run health care -- rushed over, attaching electrodes to his chest and giving him oxygen and an IV drip.
This turned into an unwanted visual for the speakers, as a D.C. ambulance and firetruck, lights flashing, pulled in just behind the lawmakers. A path was made through the media section, and the patient, attended to by about 10 government medical personnel, was being wheeled away on a stretcher just as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stepped to the microphone. "Join us in defeating Pelosi care!" he exhorted. A few members stole a glance at the stretcher. Boehner may have been distracted as well. He told the crowd he would read from the Constitution, then read the "we hold these truths" bit from the Declaration of Independence.
Awwkwaaard.

Posted by
shadowfax
at
10:43 PM
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Posted by
shadowfax
at
9:32 PM
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Reporting from Washington - Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.
The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy, both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments -- which substitute for or supplement medical treatments -- on the same footing as clinical medicine. While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against "religious and spiritual healthcare."

Posted by
shadowfax
at
6:49 AM
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[This] legislation will repeal a 21 percent fee reduction scheduled for January 2010 and replace it with a stable system that ends the cycle of threats of ever-larger fee cuts followed by short-term patches. Permanent reform of physician payments in Medicare will guarantee that Medicare beneficiaries continue to enjoy the excellent access to care that they do today. It will also follow the President’s lead by ending a budget gimmick that artificially reduces the deficit by assuming physician payments will be cut by 40 percent over the next several years even though Congress has consistently intervened to prevent those cuts from occurring.Sounds great, right? And even better, they're being fiscally responsible, making statutory the "Pay-Go" principle:
The Medicare Physician Payment Reform legislation will be considered in the House under a procedure which will add the text of H.R. 2920, the Statutory PAYGO Act of 2009, as passed by the House on July 22nd before being sent to the Senate. The “pay as you go” principle of budget discipline requires Congress to find a way to pay for any new spending, outside of an economic crisis.Wow. These Democrats in Congress are the most responsible, principled, courageous lawmakers ever. So, let's read on and see where they found the money to offset the SGR fix. A new tax on soda pop? Cuts to the F-22 program? I can't wait to find out!
A previous Congress established the policy for paying Medicare doctors, so the update for 2010 is not a new policy to be paid for. The Statutory PAYGO Act would apply this principle to all new tax and spending policies, and would allow Congress to exclude the impact of continuing policies currently in place, including Medicare payments to physicians. The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act would not increase total payments to physicians above what they are today and therefore, would not be subject to the paygo requirement.Oh.

Posted by
shadowfax
at
12:18 PM
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