UNECOM: The Beginning of the End

I was going to use a different title for this post, but after my last comments concerning the financial goings-on at UNECOM and the alleged failures of judgment of our dominatrix overlord, UNE, I opted for a graver though more subdued introduction. As it happens, I just used up my last tiny shred of clout on that opening sentence, so instead of writing I'll let a few UNE notables share their words (You know: from folk's whose names are engraved in the buildings on campus.).

If you're not a UNECOMer the closing of University Health Care won't mean much, so don't look for a punch line or a deeper message here. If you are part of the flock, check out http://sites.google.com/site/unecomconcern/home for more information.

If you've got an opinion, please use the contact information below to let the board of trustees know where you stand.

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Timeline of Events - Prepared by Dr. Christopher Pezzullo

Time Line

• 6/1/08 Dr. Cawley starts as VPCA, John Gimpel starts as Dean, Dr. Pezzullo starts as Medical Director
• 6/10/08 Dr Cawley forces resignation of Drs. Stockwell and Garrett, Finance Director of UHC Becky Behme is fired
• 9/1/08 Dr. Cawley gives her notice, will be a VP at Maine Health
• 10/1/08 UHC Transition Team (Cawley, Allcorn, Gimpel, Pezzullo, Ward) starts 2x/mo meetings
• 10/15/08 DCO (Nancy Kiernan) starts, and joins transition team
• 10/31/08 Dr. Cawley’s last day
• Transition Team headed by Seth Allcorn, VP Finance meets to excitedly plan for a new UHC that is interprofessional, intercollegiate and financially secure
• 2/15/09 Seth tells us that the President wants to shut UHC down. We re-double efforts to create a salvageable UHC
• 3/17/09 Dr. Pezzullo proposes to Board of Trustees Finance Committee a $20/hour teaching allocation, banked in arrears—they endorse a $400,00 allocation using this model
• Seth no longer engaged as Transition Team leader states that there’s no way to “make it work”
• 6/16/09 3 Proposals offered to President for UHC: Stand-alone Corp., MSO, shrunk-down COM-centric model
• 7/2/09 President rejects all proposals, says she’s shutting UHC down
• 7/15/09 June figures show that UHC makes its first 1-month profit in almost a decade!
• 8/4/09 90-day notice letter of termination sent to all 100 UHC employees
• Closure of UHC will result in nearly $2 million in costs, near-abandonment of >20k patients, continued costs to train medical students outside of UNE and the loss of all medical clinics at COM/UNE

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Second Letter from Dr. Owen Pickus to BOT

Dear Members of the Board,

I am sure this ongoing debate over UHC is growing somewhat tiresome for many of you. Unfortunately, I must continue the dialogue. The update below by Dr. Ripich, once again fails to respond to the most important fundamental question. Since SMMC and Maine Health have made no promises regarding any ultimate committeement to UHC, what happens in the alternative? Moreover, Dr. Bates assures me that Dr. Ripich was given three viable alternates to salvage UHC, she choose none of them. Instead, she unilateraly elected to close UHC. Only after that decision was made did Dr. Bates offer to contact SMMC for their interest. He asked Dr. Ripich for 120 days to negotiate and achieve the best terms possible if a deal could be struck. Rather than accept his advice, she offered 30 days to make a deal and simulatneously announced the UHC closure. By going "public" with this position, she placed the University and Dr. Bates in the unenviable task of arranging a deal with Maine Health with their awareness that we had little left on the table to offer. Any good business person knows that you go into a posture to strike a deal with another party without displaying your weaknesses. Clearly this did not happen here and now Maine Health can pick and choose the best parts of UHC and dismiss the rest. According to Dr. Bates and Dr. Pezzullo, this has left us at the mercy of Maine Health to dictate our future. Finally, as comments flow from the community regarding the UHC closure, we cannot with any assurance make statements of how we will support our students, the Health Center or our existing patients at UHC. Understand this is not about Dr. Ripich but about the community perception of how UNE does it's business. So far, the feedback from outside UNE and also from within has been less than supportive. Please reconsider the need to have a sub-committee formed now to deal with this difficult situation.

Thank you all for you continued interest,
Owen Pickus

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Letter from Dr Geraldine Ollila to BOT

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Members of the BOT:

Over the past ten years, UNE/COM has seen rapid growth and an equivalent rise in its national prestige. Alumni support has been instrumental in contributing to this success. Remarkably, our Osteopathic physician graduates have been a cornerstone of healthcare in Maine participating in student education and fund raising for COM. Recent change and instability at UNECOM (as outlined below) has raised serious concerns from our valued alumni and Osteopathic physician graduates that must be critically evaluated and challenged.

* Potential closure of UHC, 100+ jobs at risk, loss of student education sites, 20,000 plus patients displaced. Potential acquisition by Maine Health resulting in an uncertain future for UHC.
* COM Dean turnover, local and nationally respected Dr. Boyd Buser passed over for Dean. Dr. Jackie Cawley appointed interim Dean with significant local controversy over ties to Maine Health. Dr. John Gimpel appointed and resigned within one year. Dr. Cawley reappointed as Dean, accepted position, withdrew within 48 hours. COM Dean position remains unfilled contributing to further uncertainty.
* Loss of longstanding Osteopathic residency, displacing desperately needed local Osteopathic physicians.
* Unprecedented number of UNE/COM senior staff/management turnover (Dean of COM, VP Financial Affairs, Dean of Students, and other VP’s of the University).
* Pursuit of a Dental school in uncertain financial times with excessive expenditures in the exploration process with no success to date.
* Turmoil at COM has resulted in a significant drop off of student applicants of 2.8% (the largest decline in the country) while nationally the application rate to other Osteopathic medical schools has risen by 8.9%.

I implore you as Board members to independently evaluate these events raised by our valued alumni and osteopathic physician graduates. These decisions may have permanent impact on UNE/COM.

Thank you for your time and consideration at these critical times.

Sincerely,

Geraldine Ollila D.O., P.T., UNE’ 88, COM 93

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Letter from Dr. John Peterson to the BOT

Dear Chairman Morel and members of the UNE Board of Trustees:

John M. Peterson, D.O. here. I was a member of the founding class at UNECOM and I have been the Executive Director of the Vermont State Association of Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons, Inc. for over 25 years. I recently received a copy of Dr. Pickus' letter regarding the situation with UHC from one of my association members and have also discussed the situation with our president John Johansson, D.O./UNECOM '82.

I am writing to express our extremely serious concerns with this matter as well as our ongoing concerns about the direction that UNE appears to have taken under the leadership of Dr. Ripich.

As a member of the founding class, I can recall very well that St. Francis College was on the verge of becoming an afterthought in the world of educational institutions, when I arrived on the campus. It is my strong belief that without the reorganization of St. Francis College and with the addition of the COM as UNE that the institution would have joined the ranks of extinct educational facilities. With the start of the COM and the graduation of the inaugural class, UNE began to flourish and has now become a world class institution of learning in many fields.

The university and the COM has benefited greatly from the donations of numerous generous individuals including Mr. Alfond, Dr. Pickus, Dr. Morgane and the Lowney family as well as many osteopathic physicians and their patients who all firmly believe in Osteopathy and what it has to offer patients in New England as well as wherever our graduates come to practice.

Several years ago, as I assume you all recall, there was a great deal of consternation over the selection process for the new dean of the COM under Dr. Ripich's leadership. It remains my opinion that we lost an excellent candidate in Dr. Buser, who subsequently was selected to be the dean at the school in Pikeville, KY. That was their gain and our great loss. I can't think of anyone more dedicated to Osteopathy in general and to New England in particular than Dr. Buser, who is also one of the trustees of the AOA.

At that time there was a great deal of anger in the New England osteopathic community both from graduates of the COM as well as from practicing physicians about how Dr. Ripich handled the situation as well as the lack of communication with the alumni and with the practicing D.O.s in New England. I wrote to Dr. Ripich and to the board recommending more and better communication about any events that would vitally impact our profession in this region. I recall receiving assurances that there would be better communication in the future, but clearly that has never happened.

We are distressed that the elimination of the UHC was apparently a unilateral decision by Dr. Ripich without the consultation or the advice of the Board of Trustees. The impact of this decision has major potential adverse effects on the healthcare in the communities involved, on the faculty and on the education of our students.

We are also very concerned about the selection process for the new dean of the COM, about which we remain very much in the dark. We need a strong dean who will look after the COM as well as furthering the advancement of Osteopathy in the region, but we are concerned that someone will be chosen who will only rubberstamp the decisions of Dr. Ripich, instead of standing up for and representing the COM as well as the profession in our region.

As it now stands, we are forced to offer a vote of no confidence for Dr. Ripich in terms of leading the university and, most importantly, in respecting and carrying forward the vision of the founders of the COM and the university.

Respectfully submitted,

John M. Peterson, D.O.

UNECOM 1982

Executive Director, Vermont State Association of Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons, Inc.

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Student Concerns

Please Read and Comment

Students would like to maintain a uniquely Osteopathic Education and have a place to practice while they are doing so. With the proposition of a buyout, the fact that SMMC is not an Osteopathic hospital must be understood. It is unlikely this institution will foster the climate of Osteopathy that we, as students, are interested in maintaining.

Accreditation is up for review in January 2010. With this much of a decrease in clinical faculty, Dr. Bates has stated we will not be able to pass. The inability to pass this review is due to the significant reduction in student to faculty ratio and the reduced amount of time students are able to spend with clinicians.

Recently, Dr. Ripich made a decision to close down UHC and terminate the entire clinical faculty including the OMM faculty keeping only the heads of the departments.

1. The quality of our education will undoubtedly suffer. SMMC has already said they will not allow physicians working for them to have more than 30% of their time purchased by UNECOM. This said, we currently have 8 OMT-only faculty, allocating 40-60% of their time to UNECOM activities. There is no guarantee from SMMC stating the physicians currently on staff will be rehired.

2. The cost of our education is one of the highest in the country. Closing the student clinic will decrease opportunities for preceptorships and decrease the overall quality of our education without a concurrent reduction in our tuition.

3. The further dilution of Osteopathic culture which will occur with the closure of UHC fundamentally alters the character the students expect and demand from this institution. Students matriculated to a school with a strong foundation in Osteopathy and community service, but the closure of UHC is radically opposed to these ideals.

4. The NMM residency operated jointly by the University and UHC is being put into jeopardy at a time when GME is calling for the expansion of residency positions.

5. Because of the need to buy out contracts and the cost to shut down UHC, there will be an incredible financial burden placed on the students who will in turn see no dividends. Closure of UHC will have an immediate financial impact to the University potentially in excess of two million dollars. President Ripich argues that the clinic’s budget should not be subsidized with student tuition. The use of tuition money for the closing of UHC is by far more inappropriate than using the money toward UHC and our education. The expense of University Health Care is one of the factors that contributes to the cost of our education and should not be viewed as a burden.
***Dr. Pezzullo states that UHC had a profit in July of over 200k which is the first profit in over ten years. This shows that his hard work was turning the financial situation around and may have led to future profits. It clearly will cost far more to close it down. The most appropriate financial decision is to rescind the closing of UHC and keep it with UNECOM.

*** It is less expensive to have the faculty hired by UNE than to hire them as adjunct.

6. The potential loss of accreditation would dramatically affect all students' careers, but would have particular significance to those students who are participating in military HPSP scholarships. These students would no longer be allowed to study at UNECOM, as participants in the HPSP program are required to attend accredited medical schools. However, military student physicians are still under contract to the United States Army/Navy/Air Force. These students would have two choices; one would be to transfer to another Osteopathic medical school. The other would be to immediately repay the United States Government over $80,000 in tuition, fees, expenses, and stipends (approximation of total disbursement to current second year students).
**This fact was obtained through direct communication with the United States Army HPSP Office of Student Management.

7. The decision to close UHC and terminate the associated faculty was made unilaterally and without regard to the input of students or faculty. The full COM Board of Trustees was not apprised of the situation before action was taken. This further highlights the lack of transparency with financial matters and institutional planning. (emphasis added)

8. This should all be viewed in light of the fact that plans are in progress to nearly double class size. Doubling of class size with dramatic reductions in OMM faculty will seriously dilute the Osteopathic character of our school, a fact which many students find simply unpalatable.

Until these concerns are sufficiently addressed, the students of UNECOM will not settle for what they are given, they will fight for what they expect and deserve from this great institution.

The best decision for students educationally is to keep UHC with UNECOM.

The best financial decision is to rescind the termination of clinical faculty as well as OMM faculty and keep our faculty intact.

UHC is an educational expense, as are the faculty. They have always been a part of the tuition.

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Contact info for BOT

Ann Butterworth ’77 ’81, Secretary, Treasurer
Michael Campinell, Student Trustee
Daniel D’Entremont
Brian Dallaire, Pharm.D.
Mark Doiron, Vice Chair
Jenna Fucetola, Student Trustee
Alfred H. Fuchs, Ph.D.
Vincent E. Furey, Jr.
Sandi Goolden
Karin A. Gregory
Keith R. Jacques, J.D.
Joseph F. Karpinski, D.D.S.
Charles J. Kean, III, C.P.A.
Robert Leonard, D.O. ’86
Michael A. Morel, Chair
James Norwood, Jr. ’66
Diane M. Nugent, D.O. ’92
Eugene A. Oliveri, D.O.
Gary Palman, D.O.
Owen Pickus D.O.
Hugo Ricci ’66
Danielle Ripich, Ph.D., President (ex-officio)
Alice Savage, M.D., Ph.D. ’55
Terrance J. Sheehan, M.D.
Normand E. Simard
Kenneth G. Simone, D.O. `87
Melinda Small, Ph.D.
Gerald Talbot
John E. Thron
Tonia Hanson Tibbetts
Harold E. Woodsum, Jr., L.L.B.

Ann.Butterworth@libertymutual.com
mcampinell@mail.une.edu
mdoiron@hannaford.com
ddentremont@maine.rr.com
bdallaire@usa.net
afuchs@bowdoin.edu
jfucetola@mail.une.edu
vfurey@maine.rr.com
sgoolden@maine.rr.com
kjacques@sesg.com
jfkarpy@webtv.net
cjk@macpage.com
hairdr@pol.net
mmorel2@maine.rr.com
Jim@newbalanceva.com
dmn ugent@maine.rr.com
picooliveri@aol.com
palmag@spectrummg.com
opickus@maine.rr.com
hukathy@msn.com
dripich@une.edu
sav1121age@fairpoint.net
tsheehan@medicalmutual.com
norm7077@aol.com
ksimone@sunburypc.com
mysmall@suscom-maine.net
gtalbot@maine.rr.com
JohnEThron@aol.com
tibmar@pivot.net
hwoodsum@maine.rr.com

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In these turbulent times, I'm sure members of the board would welcome any and all input.

(If you skipped to the end hoping for a bit of humor, sorry to let you down. If you scroll down a little further, there's a bit of bog-snorkeling I think you might like.)

World Bog Snorkeling Championship

Tired of all this talk about health care?

Me too.

Here's something a bit more palatable:

Death Pannels

Ever wonder what jackass started the "Death Panels" rumor that's currently dominating the debate over health care reform? Well here she is in all her glory. In Jon Stewart's words, "Watch it with hot cocoa and a friend who normally helps you through bad trips."

When you're done, there's an email forward below that's been making the rounds in Evangelical circles. If you're not too nauseated from watching the video, check it out.






Wasn't that fun?

I was going to comment on this next email - point out the various discrepancies, inaccuracies and absurdities held within it - but then I realized it's so ridiculous it needs no explanation. I was also going to post a video of the author, Rick Joyner, and his organization, MorningStar Ministries. That would just be sad... (But check out Rick Joyner and his "Church of Altered States" on YouTube if you're curious!)

So, here it is with no edits or alteration - no bells and whistles it doesn't deserve - yet another reason why so many believe a half-black/half-white lawyer from Hawaii is a Nazi:

SPECIAL BULLETIN


NATIONAL HEALTH SCARE

By Rick Joyner


When I read the brief on what was contained in the National Health Care bill that is now being presented before Congress, I could not believe I was reading something that was actually being considered in the United States of America. This is not about money or government mismanagement—this is about something far more diabolical than that. As incomprehensible as it may seem, this is about euthanasia, the power to determine who lives or dies in America. Hitler and Stalin would have loved to have had a means such as this for dispatching the millions they killed—it would have made their job much easier, and probably given them the ability to kill many more than they did. THIS BILL IS THAT SINISTER. This is not a joke—this is actually the nature of what is being proposed in the National Health Care legislation, and it is the obvious reason why the Obama Administration wants to ram it through Congress before anyone gets a chance to read it.

I have resolved to always be as generous as I can toward people with opposing views of my own. I do this because I believe it is the mandate of I Corinthians 13 to always believe the best about people, rather than the worst. I know this opens me up to be misled by some, but I consider that a small price to pay to not become cynical. I also do it because I think it is wise to always try and understand the position of my opponents—to be open to consider their positions and not be too rigid or inflexible to change because we all “see in part,” and “know in part.” Because of this, I have been chided for being too generous by giving those I do challenge grace by believing that they had not thought through the consequences of their proposals, or had other good intentioned reasons for doing what they were doing. However, after reading the brief on this health care bill, I don’t see how anyone could not see that there is profound evil and evil intent at work here. I just do not see any way to be any more generous with those who proposed this bill than that. It is that bad.

This bill is obviously designed to put the authority to determine who lives and dies in America into the hands of government bureaucrats. As outrageous as that seems, it is true—you can read it yourself. It even gives the government access to all of your accounts, and the authority to make withdrawals. I know this is hard to believe, but you can read it yourself.

Do you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your mother or father can receive treatment, even in life and death cases? Would you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your child, or you, could receive treatment, even when it means life or death? Think of the best experience that you ever had working with a government bureaucrat, and then think about them having the power to make a potentially life or death choice for your child, your parents, or for you. This is actually what is being proposed.

Add to that chilling thought the fact that this bureaucrat does not have to know one thing about medicine to be in that position. In fact, this bill proposes letting the government define what quality health care is and impose that definition on health care workers. Nowhere does it even specify what training, expertise, or qualifications this all-powerful government bureaucrat has to have to be placed in the position to make such ultimate decisions for the health, well-being, and even the lives of Americans.

Am I being too hard on bureaucrats, or the Obama Administration’s intentions? Certainly there are many bureaucrats who are sincere and true public servants. I agree that such are deserving of our appreciation and respect. The modern world could not exist without them. Think of the most noble and conscientious there are. What kind of position would we be putting them in to have to go to work every day and decide who is going to get treatment, who is going to have to go on a waiting list and for how long, and who are they going to have to just let die?

Who could live with such a job? There are many who could, who would just see it as paperwork, and those are the ones who would be in that position because the truly noble ones could not endure it. Hitler found many who could dispatch thousands each day, and then go home and enjoy their own families at night. There are people with that kind of moral disconnect. These jobs will be filled and by the very ones we would never want in such positions.

It is beyond anything I thought I would ever see in my lifetime that such a bill could ever be seriously considered in the U.S. Congress. This bill has the potential for totalitarian control to be imposed on America to a degree that Hitler and Stalin could not have even imagined. With the technology available now, totalitarian control can very quickly be imposed to a degree far beyond what was attained by either the Nazis or the Communists, and this bill has provisions in it for just that. It mandates the sharing of all of your personal information, from just about every conceivable source, with the new health care bureaucracy being set up to implement this national health care system. The penalties for trying to escape this web are serious. This would actually make America into a national concentration camp, and we can be sure that ultimately it will be a national death camp. You do not have to take my word for it—read it for yourself. Below I will include a brief on this bill so that you can look it up, chapter and verse.

I am a pastor and a watchman, and I therefore have a mandate to watch out for the people, and to sound the alarm when I see a threat. I have never seen one like this before. Even so, I have prayed for restraint and calm as I address this, and do not want to exaggerate anything. In spite of this terrible evil that is manifesting itself through the Obama Administration, I am resolved to pray for our government leaders, and I try to pray for the President every day. My sincere hope is for a spiritual awakening for him and for those in every government position, and for the Lord to give them wisdom and help for the most difficult task they have. However, with all due respect (and I mean this), what is coming out of the Obama Administration is evil, more evil than anything I thought I would ever see in America. It is time to call it what it is.

In the early 1990s, myself and a few other prophetic friends were all shown separately, but at the same general time, that the same evil that gained access to Germany in the 1930s was going to seek access to America. I have shared this often since then, and have made many trips to Germany to seek to understand what happened there. Col. Eugene Bird became one of my dearest friends, and I spent many days with him listening to what he had learned about this, which was considerable. Col. Bird was the U.S. Commandant of the Spandau Prison that held the Nazi war criminals, and ultimately became the one many considered to be the foremost authority on Nazi Germany. Bird’s insight into how evil can gain entry into the human soul and into governments was remarkable, but I always had trouble seeing a connection that would allow what happened there to actually happen in America. Bird often chastised me for this, warning that it could easily happen in America (Col. Bird lived most of his life in Germany, where he became loved and esteemed by that nation, but he remained a patriotic American to the end). Bird often explained how the evil spirit of death that took over Germany gained entry through its health care system. Now it is easy to see what he was talking about in what is being proposed by the Obama Administration.

In Germany, the National Socialists (Nazis) gradually desensitized the nation to death beginning with abortion. Then they quietly, seemingly with the most noble intentions, rounded up the retarded and insane, claiming that the state could take much better care of them, but no one ever saw or heard from them again. Then they did the same with the elderly. As word slipped out that they were being euthanized, it was explained that war made it necessary to eliminate all of the “useless eaters” so that the troops could be fed, as well as those who worked for the war machine. By that time, the grip of control was too strong for anyone to protest or they would also be sent to the camps. Life became cheaper and cheaper, people became more and more depraved, and millions were slaughtered in the death camps.

America is following a parallel course. If Hitler had a tool such as the health care bill that is being proposed by Congress, along with the technology of control now available, it would have made his task much easier and more effective, and probably resulted in many millions more having been easily murdered.

I have had Presidents, candidates, senators, and congressmen and congresswomen from both parties tell me they have read and appreciated my writings. I have maintained for many years that an eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing to fly, and believe that there are excellent men and women of true conviction in both parties. I realize that by writing with this tenor, I risk being considered an extremist, and maybe risk many relationships, but I cannot be concerned about that. With such an extreme evil threatening our country, I would have a difficult time standing before the Lord on that great judgment day if I did not speak up as boldly, as clearly, and as loudly as I can. Call me an alarmist and I will agree with you—I am going to do my best to sound the alarm against evil in every way that I can, and I don’t think I have ever seen anything with the potential for evil like this national health care bill.

I pray that senators and congressmen from both parties who have courage and conviction will stand up against this terrible impending holocaust and stop this bill. I expect that it will be hard for many who read and understand what this Democratic Administration has proposed not to refer to the Democratic Party as the Death Party from now on, but let’s wait and see how the Democrats in Congress respond to this before condemning them, too. This bill is criminal—it opens the door for a crime against humanity on a level that could easily surpass what happened in the last century. We must hold accountable all who have written, proposed, and sided with this bill—and determine that with all the resources we are given, they will never be elected again for anything.

I pray that every Christian will wake up and rise up to take their stand against what is happening in our country now. If we do, we can stop this. If we don’t, we will have to stand before the Judge having let this happen on our watch. We can expect persecution and even death for standing against such a bold and obvious attack of the spirit of death, but no Christian should fear death, and no Christian will want to live in the world that is now taking shape if we do not become the salt and light we are called to be.

We are in need of the courage and resolve of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, who stood before the huge and terrible Balrog demon and declared—“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” The demon was stopped, and even though it was able to grab and drag Gandalf down with it, Gandalf returned with a new level of authority. It does not matter what the consequences are for standing for truth, as Christians we must stand because it is our basic duty. As the first apostles demonstrated, to be persecuted and to suffer shame for our God and His truth is one of the greatest honors. However, we must do it for more than honor—we must also do it for our children and their children.

Last night on Fox News, a former Clinton Administration council to the President stated courageously that this bill was not just about money, it was about euthanasia. The money part does not make any sense at all, but now that the real evil that is driving this can be clearly seen, we can understand that the Administration really does not care about saving money or providing health care for everyone; rather it is about control. There is already talk about this being about saving money by being able to euthanize the baby boomers so they will not have to be paid social security, or weigh down the health care system with their needs. I’m not ready to go that far, but that is obviously why the Florida congressman declared that this bill was a death sentence for the elderly. That is true.

The only commandment with a promise that it will go well with us, and that we may live long, is the commandment to honor our fathers and mothers. This commandment is found in both the Old and New Testaments (see Ephesians 6:2-3). Killing them when they can no longer be productive, as Hitler and Stalin resolved to do, is the most dishonorable thing we could ever do, and we can be sure will bring the opposite to the blessing promised. As you read the bill, and see how excessively long they stay on the point of being able to determine what and if any care is given to the elderly, you will see it really is chilling. It is obvious this is a primary purpose of those who wrote this bill. I know this sounds far-fetched, and I would not have believed it myself a few days ago, but just read it for yourself.


The following is a brief outline of this bill put together by Mat Staver of the Freedom Foundation and Liberty Counsel (contact info is at the end). The comments by the brief are Mat’s, except where I have noted my own by putting them in italics. The bold is also mine.

After reading, please do not wait to contact your representatives to protest this. If you don’t get through, keep calling, send emails, but do not stop until you know your voice has been heard.

Obama Health Care Plan Details

HR 3200 currently under consideration in the House of Representatives


Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice!

Pg 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Pg 58HC Bill – Gov’t will have real-time access to individual’s finances & a National ID Health care card will be issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access to your banks accts for electronic funds transfer.

Pg 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring priv HC plans under Govt control.

Pg 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit packages for private Health Care plans in the Exchange

Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare!

Pg 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services.

Example - Translation for illegal aliens.

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan

Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - Your Health Care WILL be rationed

Pg 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Individual will be automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

Pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Govt on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monopoly.

Pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what you can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public opt plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Employer w/ payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll

Pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt provide public opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income.

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay).

Pg 195 Officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans financial and personal records.

Pg 203 Line 14-15 HC - “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that. Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, it does not matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.

Pg 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.

Pg 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.

Pg 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

Pg 272 SEC. 1145. Treatment of certain cancer hospitals – Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions. (Incentives for hospital to not treat and release.)

Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission-Govt will penalize you.

Pg 317 L 13-20 PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!

Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates established of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing.

Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans (Part B), HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Govt plan.

Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!

Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Committee. HC by phone/Internet?

Pg 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance [Death] Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life.

Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!

Pg 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Gov’t provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death.

Pg 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life. The Gov’t has a say in how your life ends.

Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “adv. care planning consult” will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

Pg 429 Lines 10-12 “adv. care consultation” may incl an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life

(NOTE FROM RJ: The above really does give the government the authority to determine who lives and dies, and when. A government bureaucrat really will be making this decision for you and your loved ones.)



Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?

Pg 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment to a community-based org. Like ACORN?

Pg 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. They will insert Government into your marriage. Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs

PG 502 Sec 1181 Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research Established. – Hello Big Brother – Literally.

Pg 503 Lines 13-19 Gov’t will build registries and data networks from YOUR electronic med records.

Pg 503 lines 21-25 Gov’t may secure data directly from any depart or agency of the US including your data.

Pg 504 Lines 6-10 The “Center” will collect data both published & unpublished (that means public & your private info)

PG 506 Lines 19-21 The Center will recommend policies that would allow for public access of data.

PG 518 Lines 21-25 The Commission will have input from HC consumer reps – Can you say unions & ACORN?

PG 524 18-22 Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund set up. More taxes for ALL.

PG 621 Lines 20-25 Gov’t will define what Quality means in HC. Since when does Gov’t know about quality?

Pg 622 Lines 2-9 To pay for the Quality Standards, Govt will transfer $$ from to other Govt Trust Funds. More Taxes.

PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to assess outcomes & functional status of patients.

PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to profile you including race, age, gender, place of residence, etc

Pg 628 Sec 1443 Gov’t will give “Multi-Stake Holders” Pre-Rule Making input into Selection of “Quality” Measures.

Pg 630 9-24/631 1-9 Those Multi-stake holder groups incl. Unions & groups like ACORN deciding HC quality.

Pg 632 Lines 14-25 The Gov’t may implement any “Quality measure” of HC Services as they see fit.

PG 633 14-25/ 634 1-9 The Secretary may issue non-endorsed “Quality Measures” for Physician Services & Dialysis Services.

Pg 635 to 653 Physicians Payments Sunshine Provision – Gov’t wants to shine sunlight on Docs but not Govt.

Pg 654-659 Public Reporting on Health Care-Associated Infections – Looks okay.

PG 660-671 Doctors in Residency – Gov’t will tell you where your residency will be, thus where you’ll live.

Pg 676-686 Gov’t will regulate hospitals in EVERY aspect of residency programs, incl. teaching hospitals.

Pg 686-700 Increased Funding to Fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. You mean like the Gov’t with an $18 million website?

PGs 701-704 Sec 1619 If your part of HC plan isn’t in Gov’t HC Exchange but you qualify for Fed aid, no payment.

PG 705-709 SEC. 1128 If Secr gets complaints (ACORN) on HC provider or supplier, Gov’t can do background check.

PG 711 Lines 8-14 The Secretary has broad powers to deny HC providers/ suppliers admittance into HC Exchange. Your doctor could be thrown out of business.

Pg 719-720 Sec 1637 ANY Doctor who orders durable med equip or home med services MUST be enrolled in Medicare.

PG 722 Sec 1639 Gov’t MANDATES Doctors must have face to face with patient to certify patient for Home Health Svcs.

PG 724 23-25 PG 725 1-5 The same Gov’t certifications will apply to Medicaid & CHIP (your kids)

PG 724 Lines 16-22 Gov’t reserves rt to apply face to face certification for patient to ANY other HC service.

Pg 735 lines 16-25 For law enforce. proposes the Secretary-HHS will give Atty General access to ALL data.

PG 740-757 Gov’t sets guidelines for subsidizing the uninsured (Thats your tax dollars people)

Pg 757-762 Fed gov’t will shift burden of payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) to States. (Taxes)

Pg 763 1-8 No DS/EA hospitals will be paid unless they provide services without regard to national origin

Pg 765 Sec 1711 Gov’t will require Preventative Services including vaccines. (Choice?)

Pg 768 Sec 1713 Gov’t – Nurse Home Visitation Svcs (Hello union paybacks)

Pg 769 11-14 Nurse Home Visit Svcs include-economic self-sufficiency, employ adv, school-readiness.

Pg 769 3-5 Nurse Home Visit Services - “increasing birth intervals between pregnancies.” Govt ABORTIONS anyone

Pg 770 SEC 1714 Fed Gov’t mandates eligibility for State Family Planning Services. Abortion & State Sovereign.

Pg 789-797 Gov’t will set, mandate drug prices, controlling which drugs brought to market. Bye innovation.

Pgs 797-800 SEC. 1744 PAYMENTS for graduate medical education. The government will now control Drs’ education.

PG 801 Sec 1751 The Govt will decide which Health care conditions will be paid. Say RATION!

Pg 810 SEC. 1759. Billing Agents, clearinghouses, etc req. to register. Gov’t takes over private payment sys.

Pg 820-824 Sec 1801 Govt will identify individ. ineligible for subsidies. Will access all personal financial information.

Pg 824-829 SEC. 1802. Govt Sets up Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund. Another tax black hole.

PG 829-833 Gov’t will impose a fee on ALL private health ins. plans incl. self insured to pay for Trust Fund!

PG 835 11-13 fees imposed by Gov’t for Trust Fund shall be treated as if they were taxes.

Pg 838-840 Gov’t will design & implement Home Visitation Program for families with young kids & families expect kids.

PG 844-845 This Home Visitation Prog. includes Gov’t coming into your house & telling you how to parent!!!

Pg 859 Gov’t will establish a Public Health Fund at a cost of $88,800,000,000. Yes that’s Billion.

Pg 865 The Gov’t will MANDATE the establishment of a National Health Service Corps.

PG 865 to 876 The NHS Corps is a program where Drs. perform mandatory HC for 2yrs for part loan repayment.

PG 876-892 The govt takes over the education of our Med students and Drs.

PG 898 The Govt will establish a Public Health Workforce Corps to ensure supply of public health prof.

PG 898 The Public health workforce corps shall consist of civilian employees of the U.S. as Secretary deems.

PG 898 The Public health workforce corps shall consist of officers of Regular & Reserve Corps of Service.

PG 900 The Public Health Workforce Corps includes veterinarians.

PG 901 The Public Health Workforce Corps WILL include commissioned Regular & Reserve Officers. HC Draft?

PG 910 The Govt will develop, build & run Public Health Training Centers.

PG 913-914 Govt starts a HC affirmative action program thru guise of diversity scholarships.

PG 915 SEC. 2251. Govt MANDDATES Cultural & linguistic competency training for HC professionals.

Pg 932 The Govt will estab Preventative & Wellness Trust fund- initial cost of $30,800,000,000-Billion.

PG 935 21-22 Govt will identify specific goals & objectives for prevention & wellness activities. Control YOU!!

PG 936 Govt will develop “Healthy People & National Public Health Perform. Standards” Tell me what to eat?

PG 942 Lines 22-25 More Gov’t? Offices of Surgeon General -Public Health Svc, Minority Health, Women’s Health

PG 950- 980 BIG GOV’T core pub health infrastructure including workforce capacity, lab systems; health info sys, etc

PG 993 Gov’t will establish school based health clinics. Your kids won’t have a chance.

PG 994 School Based Health Clinic will be integrated into the school environment. Say GOVT Brainwash!

PG 1001 The Govt will establish a National Medical Device Registry. Will you be tracked?

Mathew D. Staver*
Founder and Chairman Dean and Professor of Law
Liberty Counsel Liberty University School of Law
Offices in Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia, Lynchburg, Virginia
(800) 671-1776 - Telephone (434) 592-5300 - Telephone
www.LC.org
www.law.liberty.edu

*Licensed in Florida and the District of Columbia

Now do you understand why we have to stand up today against this bill and declare with all of the courageous souls who are sounding the alarm and let us say to the bill—

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS.”

Jon Stewart on Fox News

Jon Stewart on Fox News. It's 12 minutes long, but worth every hypocritical second.

Enjoy.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

Oliver Sacks - The man who mistook his wife for a hat