The Wallet Biopsy

So, when we spoke with our daughter’s cardiologist last week one of the topics of the conversation was the pending health care hijacking legislation in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Congress. The Boss, is, was, and has been concerned that if the government is in control of medicine that our daughter may not receive the second heart surgery that she needs. We have known for a year (and suspected for even longer) that she would need a second surgery. We were told last year that she will not survive into adulthood without it. The question isn’t, “Will she have surgery?” but “When will she have surgery?” Since some doctors have openly told us that had Captain Chaos needed her first heart surgery under the plans being force fed to an unwilling public considered in congress she would not have received the life saving medical care that she needed, the Boss has wondered whether or not we should ask to have her second surgery before Uncle Sam begins to make our medical decisions for us in order to insure that Captain Chaos gets the operation that she needs.

It’s kind of frightening to have to think about that in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Our daughter’s cardiologist is in favor of government run health care. In the past, he worked in a hospital where medical decisions were based on a “wallet biopsy” (his words) rather than on the needs of the patient. He also worked in hospitals in England, in a government run system that he approves of, and chose to work at Children’s Mercy Hospital because in a Mercy Hospital children receive the care that they need regardless of their parent’s ability to pay. Who pays for that “free” healthcare? My insurance company and all the insurance companies that pay their clients’ bills, as well as the generosity of philanthropists and the fund raising efforts of people like golfer Tom Watson. I respect this doctor’s opinions. I am grateful for his skills. He was the man who diagnosed Captain Chaos’ heart condition and started the course of medical treatment that saved her life.

This doctor went on to explain that in our current medical system medicine is rationed. He claims that it is rationed on a patient’s ability to pay. That is what he meant by his “wallet biopsy” comment. He would rather see our medicine rationed (he admitted that under Obama’s health care reform medicine will be rationed) based on how far the dollar can be stretched to all children. Who will lose? Adults. And the older they are, the less care they will receive. This man is completely in favor of sacrificing medical care for adults in favor of children. His advice was simple: get a good medical policy and keep it, because we will need private insurance if we want good medical care as we age.

No child may be left behind in this new system, but a great many adults will be.

Yesterday afternoon, I enjoyed a conversation with a homeschooling mom I haven’t seen in a few years. She is doing well after receiving her second pace maker after the first pace maker was faulty. She’s been on death’s door a few times since we last spoke. During the conversation she mentioned her distaste for the current administration and the pending health care legislation. I mentioned to her the comments made by the Captain’s cardiologist, and this woman clearly said, “I’d rather see your daughter get the care she needs instead of me if it comes down to a choice between the two of us.”

“That’s very kind and I thank you,” I replied. “But, I would rather see you both get the care you need.”

That brings me to two points concerning health care in these Untied States. The first is that I cannot support a politician, a party, or a process that does not believe in a fundamental respect for all human life. Those who support aborting and euthanizing human life cannot be allowed to be responsible for making decisions about health care. Secondly, they should do no harm. If medicine is to be rationed under the government plan, then they will be doing harm. Pediatricians should never be in competition with practitioners of geriatric medicine for resources. This is not acceptable. If we are going to overhaul health care in this country, we need to do so in a manner that improves the system for everyone rather than transferring current problems to other people, such as in simply changing how rationing takes place. We need to respect the rights of people who choose not to purchase health care. We need to make changes that preserve the capitalist system of business in this country. We need to get government out of our lives, not deeper into them.

The homeschooling mom in question is a retired Army wife. Her family has earned their medical care through her husband’s twenty plus years of service to this nation. Her care should never be placed in competition with the care that my daughter receives. We did not receive the insurance plan that pays for my daughter’s care because we won life’s lottery, either. We pay for that insurance plan every month. It is the result of a lot of hard work and sacrifice on our part, especially that of my wife, and most importantly of the blessings that we have received from above.

Life is sacred.

I wish our leaders knew that, and made their decisions based upon that truth.