Medical records aren’t private now

I found the letter “Europe rations health care” (11/15) by LeAnne Gamm confusing. She argued that health care records should be a private matter between herself and her doctor.

I do not feel it was an invasion of privacy when the school nurse (an example of socialized medicine) told my daughter that her daughter should receive the H1N1 vaccination rather than the standard inhaler given to the other children, because her asthmatic condition put her at risk.

Ms. Gamm would deny government access to personal health records in order to provide people at risk with necessary health care. This would, I assume, include reporting and treating persons with HIV-AIDS and other contagious diseases who are a risk to the community at large.

Apparently she has no problem with giving insurance companies the right to demand and utilize those same records to ration and exclude people at risk from their policies in order to maximize their profits.

Mic Morris 
Overland Park

Comments

[jack]

It constantly amazes me how the party that wants the government "out of your life" is so interested in knowing everything you do. Remember Ashcroft saying the provision of the Patriot Act allowing them to get into your medical records would "only be used" against terrorists? Yeah, sure. Then they used it to go after Rush Limbaugh (many things but not a terrorist).

Now the "get the government out of your life" people are proposing "healthcare reform" that includes mandates for a "healthy lifestyle". Yep, under the Republican plan there will be regular mandatory weigh-ins, cholesterol checks and blood checks to make sure you aren't smoking.

So much for freedom.

[Smarter Than You]

So T. Han has no problem with the hypocrisy of the Democratic position; he just wants to fire off some pithy statements about the Republicans. That’s OK, we can address those. The glaring omission is that Mr. MMMMM Bop (Hanson) never addressed the actual issue of the Democratic Government’s erosion of our privacy.

Now to his other remarks. A man is free to marry any woman that is not his sister or first cousin. . .I guess utilizing Hanson’s sterling level of argument that would make the Democrats the party of incest (you CAN marry any person). The war on drugs was fought at great expense during the Buba administration, so that’s hardly unique to the Republicans.

In fact, when you look at what Obama has done this far; continuation of the Patriot Act, refusal to sue the telecom companies, still holding prisoners in Gitmo without full American rights, I’m kind of confused where Hanson is pulling his moarl outrage from. Maybe he’s just faking it. That would certainly explain his non-response on the government access to medical records.

And yes, MMM Bop, Liberals want government to dip into the pockets of those who make more. Yet the middle class always winds up saddled with their under funded entitlements. Or in the case of the House Bill, a new entitlement that will raise health care costs and increase the deficit (non-partisan CMS study)..

How perfectly “democratic” that is!

[chalveyob]

Phil Kline was trying to prevent illegal activity, and had to go thorugh the courts, not really the same thing, DUH!

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

Hanson i would agre with you regarding the conservatives that claim thy want less gov yet want to tell us what you can watch, listen to, worship. I worked for a deadbeat like that, he was a hypocrite. Bible thumper by night and a corporate liberal by day. Guys like him are the ones that give enterprise a bad name.

[Indy]

I just cannot fathom how some people are so willing and eager to turn over their personal freedoms and information. Once you do that, it never comes back.

[T. Hanson]

"The same groups that have been protesting vehemently for years to keep government out of their private lives now advocate unfettered access to medical records by that same group."

STY,
The fact swings both ways. When a Republican is in charge the Social Conservatives want to make sure the government stays in personal lives (i.e. you can't marry that person, you must live even though your living will says that you don't wish to, Don't smoke that drug it could make you high, you 87yr old living with painful cancer). While Libs cry foul on the government being too intrusive.

On the flip side when a Demo is charge the Liberals want the government to dip into the pockets of those that make more and always interfere with personal lives.

[Smarter Than You]

The worm has turned. The same groups that have been protesting vehemently for years to keep government out of their private lives now advocate unfettered access to medical records by that same group.

Anyone who protested Phil Kline's access to medical records but who supports a government takeover of health care has no moral or ethical standing.

The good news is Obama won't sign the House Bill because he promised he would sign nothing that adds to the deficit; so we have no worries about this issue.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

Somehow people do not think the government will ration? Naive.
That same socialized nurse might also advise you that your daughter should be on birth control? Incidentally insurance companies will be forced to cover A.I.D.S. patients, many of whom contract the condition due to poor choices and behavior of which they know the possible consquences.
From experieince I have more problems with government entities being negligent with my personal info HHS and DOD to be exact.

[chalveyob]

I guess you would have no problem with the government deciding your condition makes you a bad risk for say an FHA loan? This is an idiotic point you are trying to make, and last time I checked a school nurse was a healthcare professional not the government. Let's just let everyone have access to our medical records, that way employers can make an inofred decision on whether you are a good candidate for a job, or are a proper candidate for adopting a child, maybe it could reflect your credit worthiness. I am always amazed by the simple minded who claim there is no reason to keep your helth records private. I suggest if you have no problem with it, feel free to braodcast your helth information across the internet, but for the rest of us, mind your own business!