Government mandated healthcare is government-controlled healthcare

According to this article from the Associated Press, Hillary Clinton envisions a day when you will have to show proof of insurance to your employer prior to being hired for a job.

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer Tue Sep 18, 12:59 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that a mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance was the only way to achieve universal health care but she rejected the notion of punitive measures to force individuals into the health care system.
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"At this point, we don't have anything punitive that we have proposed," the presidential candidate said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're providing incentives and tax credits which we think will be very attractive to the vast majority of Americans."

She said she could envision a day when "you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination," but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress.

Coincidentally this month, we read about a man in the UK who is being refused surgery by National Health Service docs because he won't quit smoking - although he did cut back to 10 cigarettes a week. And there's the woman who was required to cover her hair or risk being turned away by an NHS dentist.

Here in the US, beginning in 1996, there was a push to punish Medicare recipients who went to docs who charged more that the Medicare allowable. As it is, docs have to "opt out" officially if they want to do a cash-only practice - cheaper or higher - and are not allowed to charge Medicare, Medicaid, or any Government insurance for at least 24 months. This pretty much locked all Medicare eligible patients into the system - they must see a doc who plays the ICD, CPT game or all procedures, hospitalizations will mean going to another physician who has not opted out.

However, back in 1997 and 1998, there were some opinions given by the Clinton administration that Medicare eligible patients were themselves breaking the law if they chose to go out side the system.

Of course, that was just at the time that the E&M codes and all the Uber-reporting rules came into force due to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Here's a page full of stories covering that period.


It was also about the time that the Office of the Inspector General started making armed raids on hospitals and Reno, Shalala, and Freeh held rallies in football stadiums to teach Medicare recipients to turn their docs and hospitals in for fraud and abuse and $1000 reward.