Where in the new health care law (Obamacare) does it set up the panel to determine what procedures will or will not be allowed
I was at a dinner party amongst friends covering the political spectrum from left to right. We were discussing health care, the new law, and how best to solve the problem of costs. Even my center right friend believed all persons living in the USA should be provided health care. He thinks Obamacare accomplishes this and although he realizes the Constitutional issue of the individual mandate, he believes it is the only way to make sure everyone pays their fair share for healthcare. I pointed out how that "issue" will destroy any further restrictions on what Congress can force upon individual American citizens...he was willing to take the risk. I also pointed out that the law established an unelected panel to determine what health procedures and medicines Americans would be allowed to have. This panel could not be overrode by Congress because it required a super, super majority to do so. He had never heard of such a thing and challenged it's existence. Was I wrong?
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Answer by Ottoman Umpire
The version that passed does not appear to contain those provisions.
In the House's "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009," the Health Choices Commissioner was originally conceived as such [1]:
The Health Choices Commissioner will decide what services health insurance must cover, and under what conditions. These choice (“standards”) will apply to both employer-sponsored insurance and insurance purchased through the Health Insurance Exchange, which will be operated by the Health Choices Administration. There will be no other legal way to buy health insurance. There will, however, be a “Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman” to provide you with “assistance” in “choosing a qualified health benefits plan in which to enroll” – from among the plan or plans the Commissioner has already chosen, of course.
By October, the position had been water down to more of a negotiating role.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that passed in 2010 eliminated the public option [2]. This would have been another likely control point.
The text of the law is here [3].
Source
[1] http://blog.heritage.org/2009/07/29/who-will-make-your-health-care-choices/
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/health/policy/15lieberman.html
[3] http://housedocs.house.gov/energycommerce/ppacacon.pdf
Ottoman Umpire: Sorry I couldn't have been more helpful. If there's anything I've missed, I welcome the correction.
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- · January 31, 2012 at 3:39am
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