ObamaCare hijacks 'way of life' as we know it

[Patricia M. McBride]

October 5th, 2010 8:17 pm ET

President Obama promoted government-run health care as the centerpiece of his administration but it likely will be its downfall.

Photo: Emily Anne Epstein/Getty Images

It has been said before but bears repeating: ObamaCare is not about health, not about care, not about reform.

ObamaCare is a hijacking of the American way of life. We have been for so long afforded the privilege of taking for granted the basic notion of "way of life", it is incomprehensible that the radical left desires its obliteration. Yet, ObamaCare is its sledgehammer. "Way of life" is not uniquely American but is central to free societies and rarely uttered in oppressed societies. What is the "way of life", for example, in North Korea?

Consider the two glaring consequences of this crippling Socialist legislation known as ObamaCare. Here's one.

A close friend in the medical profession is concerned enough about the consequences of ObamaCare legislation that he is making plans to significantly cut back his personal consumption and discretionary spending. He is changing his lifestyle, engaging in a sort of preventive financial medicine.

There are, of course, millions of Americans who are not sympathetic to a "rich" physician's plight. Putting aside the tremendous investment in time and money that goes into building a medical practice, not to mention the intellectual minimum standards that come into play, perhaps it is understandable that an unemployed factory worker does not care in the least if a well compensated doctor takes fewer vacations or reduces personal spending.

But what are the consequences when the habits of one are extrapolated to tens of thousands?

The answer is potentially devastating to the American economy. If surgeons, internists and specialists go to the sidelines, what is the trickle down? Auto sales take a hit. Hotels, resorts and cruise lines see yet another dip in traffic. Retailers are stung. New home sales remain dormant. It goes on and on, right down to the landscapers, down to the waiters at local eateries.

Now consider the second overwhelming consequence, outlined brilliantly today at National Review Online by physician Marc Siegel. Put in its most basic terms, ObamaCare is already harming the relationship between individuals and their doctors, and has many more in its sights.

"If he sat on my office couch," writes Siegel, a New York University associate professor and Fox News analyst, "(Obama) would immediately discover that real patients are terribly worried about how dysfunctional and expensive all health insurance, public and private, is becoming under the new law of the land. Of course, the problem of spiraling health-care costs and inadequate access to essential services was already happening before, but Obamacare is making it far worse."

What the doctor is seeing in real life, and what his patients are fearing, is a world in which the lawmakers perceive a utopian health care environment that looks great on paper -- especially on the Socialist video loop inside of Nancy Pelosi's head -- but does not translate to the real world. More will be told to await the fruits of mandated insurance but fewer will experience the peace of mind that American health care has delivered heretofore.

Heed the words of a physician on the front lines.

"Under the 'consumer protections' that just kicked in, private insurers are unable to charge co-pays for preventive services including mammograms, colonoscopies, and vaccines," Siegel explains. "This sounds good until you consider that when these services are 'free,' demand for them will increase, and we doctors are ill equipped to handle such a demand surge. Further, it is unlikely that doctors will receive greater reimbursements to compensate for the lost co-pays — and so they will stop providing these services in droves. Your insurance may pay for your colonoscopy, but you may not be able to find a doctor to perform it."

So what hath ObamaCare wrought?

It is this: Highly trained health care professionals -- the best in the world -- who look into the future and see their way of life and the well being of their patients becoming equally tenuous.

Repeal and replace is not a campaign slogan. It is a promise.