 State nannyism doesn’t get much better than this
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for preventive care.
“It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care,” he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. “If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK.”
He noted, for example, that women would be required to have regular mammograms in an effort to find and treat “the first trace of problem.”
Once that’s settled, I’m sure President Edwards would start mandating acceptable health standards and practices. Outlaw tobacco and transfats, then regulate and ration white sugar, red meat, dairy and how many times annually one can visit fast food restaurants.
Lovely.
Comment by Lord Nazh© on 9/2 @ 11:55 pm #
Shortly after that, there would be the obligitory sex-requirement (number of times married vs unmarried). Heck mandated doctor visits opens the door to all kinds of ‘good-for-you’ government. /sarc
Comment by Sticky B on 9/3 @ 12:07 am #
Look at it from his perspective: He’s singlehandedly sued all the docs in his neck of the woods into bankruptcy. Gotta use the power of the federal government to restock the pond that he overfished.
Comment by gahrie on 9/3 @ 12:56 am #
Now, now, now…you guys are over-reacting. Edwards is just proposing this because he cares for us and knows what is good for us. I mean come on…everyone knows regular check ups are a good thing, and some people are just too irresponsible to do what is good for them….
Comment by happyfeet on 9/3 @ 1:37 am #
And yet people would still get sick and die I bet.
Comment by Sean M. on 9/3 @ 3:35 am #
How often would the zombie Christopher Reeve have to go to the doctor?
(Witch doctor?)
Comment by SDN on 9/3 @ 4:33 am #
At least Edwards admits it; the Hildebeeste is just trying to sneak it in one SCHIP at a time.
Comment by Brett on 9/3 @ 5:22 am #
He’ll put even more of us at the daily mercies of the medical profession, a group whose political philosophy hasn’t even attained the wisdom of the 18th century.
Comment by B Moe on 9/3 @ 5:58 am #
“It requires that everybody get preventive care,â€Â
Consider the implications of that as far as treatments and prescriptions go. Will the patient have the right of refusal?
Comment by Major John on 9/3 @ 6:05 am #
Yeah, so much for the reading rooms of the First Church of Christ Scientists…
Comment by N. O'Brain on 9/3 @ 6:28 am #
Once again, the mask slips revealing the fascist thug underneath.
Comment by Dan Collins on 9/3 @ 6:29 am #
I’d rather be left to the mercies of the medical profession than the legal one, Brett.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 9/3 @ 6:35 am #
Maybe we can have mandatory morning calisthenics like they do North Korea.
Every morning at 0-dark-hundred a PA system would start blaring and everyone would have to fall out under the gaze of a giant poster of Our Dear Leader.
Edwards already has the poofy hair thing going on.
Comment by Dan Collins on 9/3 @ 6:37 am #
I think it’s just amazing that such people can believe that it’s dreadfully burdensome to obtain an ID in order to vote, or to register in advance.
Comment by serr8d on 9/3 @ 6:51 am #
It’s not so much that preventative care is a bad thing. Our corporate insurance plan offers incentives for annual checkups (a reduced cost for the employee’s participation) but when the word ‘required’ is thrown in there, well, that’s an encroachment with to many negative connotations.
Comment by Rusty on 9/3 @ 7:48 am #
Hmm. How does this jibe with “We have a right to our own bodies!”
Comment by tanstaafl on 9/3 @ 7:52 am #
“He noted, for example, that women would be required to have regular mammograms in an effort to find and treat “the first trace of problem.â€Â
Somebody should tell John Boy there are some questions of the usefulness of mammograms and he might better be forcing MRI’s down everybody’s throat, uh, chest, whatever.
With M’grams a lot of false positives, causing stress, worry and unnecessary biopsies. Missed cancers, bad readings, especially in “mobile” labs.
Generally, they aren’t the screening tool that they are touted to be.
“How often would the zombie Christopher Reeve have to go to the doctor?”
While running for Veep with the other JB, Edwards said…”If John Kerry is elected, Christopher Reeve will walk.”
He must have forgotten he wasn’t doing closing arguments in front of the rapt jury.
Comment by tanstaafl on 9/3 @ 8:16 am #
I’m about to say something mean because John Boy has torqued me off with his dumb remarks.
Since it’s in this highly “private” forum (ahem), I know it won’t go any farther.
Elizabeth Edwards had intensive hormone therapy to prepare her “too old for this” body to have those 2 beautiful children.
Now, you wouldn’t trade those children for the world…but, have the Edwardses considered that “too much” medical treatment might actually be at the root of her current condition ?
You know, once the women’s initiative study determined that HRT (hormone replacement therapy) was actually causing breast cancer, I’m very very surprised at the lack of a class action lawsuit.
Now, of course, John’s vaunted medical profession is easing it back in the door. I mean, they’ve gotta do something with all those confined pregnant mares producing estrogen/progesterone in their urine.
Bizness is bizness, you know.
Comment by SarahW on 9/3 @ 8:27 am #
Excellent point about the limited usefulness of mammograms. Even if voluntary participation in a subsidized public health plan was conditional on agreeing to preventative care prescriptions, you DON”T want the government deciding which tests would be mandatory or which specific tests are suitable for you to have. The government doesn’t know, and will make stupid decisions on your behalf. Even if good for the herd, it will be bad for you, the individual. Not only is the government slow to adjust to changing standards of care, it will determine that care by committee and be based on concerns that have less to do with you than the whole herd of animals participating. The government will have interests that compete with your own about what test is necessary or desireable. Unwieldy, recalcitrant, and stupid beaurocracy is what you’ll get for your tax burden.
Comment by SarahW on 9/3 @ 8:29 am #
Now, mandatory use of a neutral ph shampoo, that’s something I could get behind.
Trackback by Outside The Beltway | OTB on 9/3 @ 8:39 am #
Edwards Opposes Medical Choice…
If John Edwards is elected president, Americans will have no choice but go to the doctor when told.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for pr…
Comment by TmjUtah on 9/3 @ 9:06 am #
All those times I bemoaned “I don’t want the Feds any further up my ass” I never thought they’d be the ones deciding I got a colonoscopy…
We do live in wondrous times, don’t we?
Comment by N. O'Brain on 9/3 @ 9:16 am #
“We do live in wondrous times, don’t we?”
Even worse, we live in interesting times.
Comment by jon on 9/3 @ 9:34 am #
By “get” did he mean “have access to” or “acquire”? It’s not draconian in one way, but it sure makes a good blogpost with the other.
But no matter how you read it, poor choice of words, Mr. Edwards.
Comment by daleyrocks on 9/3 @ 9:49 am #
GET OFF MY UTERUS SILKY!!!
Comment by happyfeet on 9/3 @ 10:00 am #
Here’s how this might work:
Comment by maggie katzen on 9/3 @ 10:49 am #
errr, jon, I think the second part of that quote answers your question.
“If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK.â€Â
I suppose that leaves opting out of the system as an option maybe.
Comment by Fat Man on 9/3 @ 10:54 am #
Esposito: From this day on, the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish. Silence! In addition to that, all citizens will be required to change their underwear every half-hour. Underwear will be worn on the outside so we can check. Furthermore, all children under 16 years old are now… 16 years old!*
Comment by JHoward on 9/3 @ 11:05 am #
It bears noting — heck, it bears front page coverage — that Puckering Silky Asshole would mandate mental health screening. Want to attent a givernment school? Want to drive? Want those lavish govt bennies? Want some more free cash? Then, subject, prove that your standards — moral, behavioral, spiritual, cultural — subscribe to Asshole’s new religion of State.
Comment by Mark on 9/3 @ 11:26 am #
“Mandatory” … coming from the same Federal Government that brought us the kind-and-gentle folks of the TSA, ATF, and DEA … managed by Hillary and VP Edwards … what does that translate to?
Obviously there will be penalties for missing your mandatory GP appointment and your mandatory Psych Eval.
And of course any objection to getting a mandatory psych eval will be seen as a prima-facie proof of “anti-social-disorder” (leaving off the “ist” after the “l”) … treatable by mandatory mind-numbing drugs or other kind-and-gentle therapy in a registered mental health facility (which is not a socialist re-education-facility (really!)).
Missing your medication will be a misdemeanor punishable by fines of not more than $5000, imprisonment for not more than 90 days and forfeiture of your residence and vehicle and bank/brokerage accounts and other assets (this is Hillary after all, using Edward’s policy suggestion to further her socialist ends).
Then, medication becomes mandatory in a whole new way … similar to the “Norplant” device, a medication-release tube will be implanted in an unremovable way to ensure that you incorrigible anti-psych people take your Paxil.
After all, if seeing the doctor is mandatory, so is listening to the doctors orders … and following them … under penalty of law (since it’s being paid for by federal tax dollars … following the usual logic of extending Fed penalties wherever Fed dollars flow or they can find commerce-clause reasons to extend their influence).
Of course, if you are overweight and not following your doctor’s mandated diet, they will be perfectly nice and kind about helping you follow the diet and exercise plan by putting you into a Fed-Med fat-farm (which is not a socialist re-education-facility (really!)).
For those of you who think the Fed-Med mandate ends at banning smoking, wait will they go after fatty hamburgers, bacon, french fries, trans-fats (Oh, wait … ).
If you’re particularly unlucky, the next Secretary of Health will be a Vegan … with police enforcement powers.
Then there’s the people who avoid doctors because they’ve been damaged by med accidents, mistakes, malpractice, etc … oops … no “choice” anymore … no medical privacy or control of your physical body.
Then there’s the doctor’s conversation with parents “your 11-year-old daughter needs to get the HPV vaccine and to be on Norplant/Yaz/Nuvaring/etc” … the parents ask why, the doctor refuses to answer but tells them she also needs to take these pills and also refuses to answer … and an 11-year-old’s sexual privacy is destroyed, the parents assume she is sleeping around and the doctor is simply following age-guidelines legally mandated by Fed-Med without any specific indicator that _this_ 11yo is sexually active … and other Fed-Med laws that say he _cannot_ discuss sexually-related matters with parents.
Then eventually the 11yo convinces her parents that she’s never had a boyfriend and the parents don’t force her on hormones and the next mandatory checkup (at school, for convenience (of course)) doesn’t detect the legally required birth control hormones in her urine … so the Parent-Police (used to be called social services before they dropped the pretense) come and arrest the parents and put the kids up for adoption for law-abiding would-be-parents to raise within the legal requirements.
After all, anything the Fed-Gov pays for, the Feds pass laws to control … like highway money allowing the Fed mandate for 55mph speed limits nationwide, DeptOfEdu money allowing for federal control over schools, and the commerce clause allowing intrusion into just about everything (wages, legal and illegal drugs, car safety and mileage, OSHA, the environment (pollution crosses state lines)). The next thing you know, we might have Fed-Gov mandates on light bulbs because electricity crosses state lines (oh … oops (CFLs))
Comment by mishu on 9/3 @ 11:55 am #
Fat Man, what’s the Spanish word for straitjacket?
Pingback by Pirate’s Cove » >>Americans Never Quit » Comrade Edwards Would Require Doctors Visits on 9/3 @ 11:57 am #
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Comment by tanstaafl on 9/3 @ 11:58 am #
Man, Mark, that Brave New World guy ain’t got nuttin’ on you !
“…your 11-year-old daughter needs to get the HPV vaccine…”
Which, of course, almost happened in Texas, a requirement for girls of a certain age( “sexually active” or no) to be vaccinated. With a vaccine that only targeted one version of the virus.
I thought the Tx. governor might have been indulging in a little collusion with the drug’s manufacturer, in that one.
“DeptOfEdu money allowing for federal control over schools…”
And what a disaster for publick eddukashun those federal mandates, test score emphasis, you hafta meet “benchmarks” or funding will be withdrawn…scenarios have been.
The Left will not be happy until they own your soul.
Comment by Fat Man on 9/3 @ 12:23 pm #
Mishu [#30] “What’s the Spanish word for straitjacket?”
Edwards.
Comment by CGHill on 9/3 @ 12:27 pm #
If we’re particularly lucky, the next Secretary of Health will be a Vogon - who will build a hyperspace bypass right through John Edwards’ ego.
Comment by McGehee on 9/3 @ 12:27 pm #
Don’t be silly, this is America.
We’d be required to do our mandatory morning calisthenics in the privacy of our own homes, under the watchful eye of Big
BrotherSilky.Trackback by Charlie Foxtrot on 9/3 @ 12:51 pm #
Criminalizing Health Care…again…
Why is every time the Dems come forward with their version of great health care, it always involves punitive actions alongside the proposed healing?…
Comment by daleyrocks on 9/3 @ 1:12 pm #
Does this mean that all the “undocumented Americans” would have to come in from the shadows to get their preventive check ups so they won’t be a burden on the U.S. health care system? Anyone know? He’s just so visionary, I’m sure he’s thought lots and lots about this aspect.
Pingback by John Edwards: you will report for inspection at Conservative Times--Republican GOP news source. on 9/3 @ 1:19 pm #
[...] What’s the enforcement mechanism here? If you don’t get a check-up, will Edwards fine you? Jail you? Let you die of cancer? And how will he know that you didn’t have a check-up? Will you have to file one of these? [...]
Comment by Lesley on 9/3 @ 1:46 pm #
If Mr. Edwards is given the opportunity to mandate nationalized health care, does this mean no more medical malpractice suits? What’s he going to tell his pals in the ATLA? “I’ve already cashed in, chumps. Too bad for you.”
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Comment by tanstaafl on 9/3 @ 2:24 pm #
“What’s the enforcement mechanism here? If you don’t get a check-up, will Edwards fine you? Jail you? Let you die of cancer?”
You’ll have a chip implanted under your skin that records your compliance with the “check up”
schedule.
Comment by Jeffersonian on 9/3 @ 2:25 pm #
Cool. Does that mean I can opt out of the Peoples’ Medical Kollective by not going to the doctor for 20 years?
Comment by Joel Mackey on 9/3 @ 2:33 pm #
read that quote again, because it tells you all you need to know about how any politician will structure “free government healthcare”.
“If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK.â€Â
This one sentence encapsulates the complete program. First it will be voluntary, but healthcare will be so expensive that anyone under a certain income threshold will be forced to use it if they want any access to modern healthcare.
Second, the requirements of the bureaucracy will make the Veteran’s Administration look like a finely oiled machine of unparalleled efficiency.
And lastly, any shortcomings of the program will readily be blamed on the wealthy percentage that did not opt to participate in the program but are paying the majority of taxes to fund the program. Thus giving the politicians the whipping boy they need to keep the unsatisfied program members from collectively coming to the politicians’ homes and committing acts of violence upon them.
Comment by McGehee on 9/3 @ 2:51 pm #
Or as Reagan once said of the idea of socialized medicine, it’ll have “the efficiency of the DMV and the compassion of the IRS.”
Comment by klrtz1 on 9/3 @ 3:53 pm #
So cradle to the grave security requires cradle to the grave control. Who’d a thunk it?
Youse guys forgot the mandatory surgery. Hysterectomy and vascectomy for breeders once they’ve spawned. Prefrontal lobotomy for unhappy workers. Assisted suicide for the decrepit elderly. Mandatory plastic surgery for the elite. Shouldn’t
theywe all look good like Silky?Comment by The System on 9/3 @ 4:10 pm #
We have drugs and therapies that will correct all this negativity, it will be addressed on your initiation visit.
Have a Good Day!
Pingback by Vote Democrat; Lose Your Freedom and Maybe Your Baby? : The Sundries Shack on 9/3 @ 4:26 pm #
[...] John Edwards announced yesterday that, if his health care program goes through, everyone in the US will be subject to mandatory preventative doctors’ visits. Says he, “…you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years”. So much [...]
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Comment by Steve White on 9/3 @ 4:46 pm #
It’s just one short step from mandatory mental-health examinations to Soviet-style pyschiatry. And believe you me, all you opponents of Clinton/Edwards style government are mentally ill. How else could you think that way?
Comment by Ignorance is Bliss on 9/3 @ 5:08 pm #
Cool. Does that mean I can opt out of the Peoples’ Medical Kollective by not going to the doctor for 20 years?
Can you opt out? Probably.
Can your tax dollars opt out? ROTFLMAO!
Comment by B Moe on 9/3 @ 5:20 pm #
“You’ll have a chip implanted under your skin that records your compliance with the “check up†schedule.”
Well that is a relief! I was afraid there might be some kind of national ID card.
Comment by John on 9/3 @ 5:24 pm #
I am in good health because I take good care of myself. I don’t need check-ups, invasive procedures, prescription medicine, and the other nonsense that comes from the medical establishment. Would I be a criminal if I refused to see a doctor under Edwards’ plan? Edwards makes the Republicans look good. And that isn’t easy.
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Comment by inmypajamas on 9/3 @ 5:37 pm #
Yikes! How long before you have your weekly weigh-in to make sure you are staying within your “optimum” weight? You do realize there’s an obesity epidemic in this country, don’t you? Remember, the fines go up dramatically once you hit the “20 - 35 lbs OOW (Over Optimum Weight)” tier. Cash only, please. Next.
Comment by Swen Swenson on 9/3 @ 5:45 pm #
Anyone who votes for Edwards should have their head examined.. and probably will.
Comment by Fat Man on 9/3 @ 6:24 pm #
Det. Thorn: It’s people. Soylent Green is made out of people. They’re making our food out of people. Next thing they’ll be breeding us like cattle for food. You’ve gotta tell them. You’ve gotta tell them!*
Comment by tanstaafl on 9/3 @ 6:40 pm #
Just eat real food, black & dark fruits for the antioxidants (blueberries, blackberries, try some cranberries….)
Put green chilies in everything (ok, that’s a personal preference) it’s the capsaician baby (puts the hot in hot chilies) for the cholesterol fighting properties or some kind of properties…
Yogurt, lots of yogurt, to promote the “good” intestinal flora…
Red wine, of course, also for the “antioxidants” (among other sterling properties…)
Your average physician-person John wants you to visit to “assess” your health has a vested interest in your non-health, not to mention your insurance coverage.
“people” are avoiding hospitals due to staph A being somewhat pervasive. Apparently, some other countries are doing a better job at controlling the menace of cross instrument contamination than American hospitals.
Comment by Robin Roberts on 9/3 @ 7:18 pm #
Silky Pony is supposed to be the most articulate and smooth of the Democrat candidates? Unbelievable.
Comment by Mike C. on 9/3 @ 7:37 pm #
I am in good health because I take good care of myself. I don’t need check-ups, invasive procedures, prescription medicine, and the other nonsense that comes from the medical establishment. Would I be a criminal if I refused to see a doctor under Edwards’ plan
Why, yes, you would. You are not qualified to make those types of determinations on your own. Your diet and exercise regimen must be approved by the board of health, a process that can take many months. In order to obtain approval you must allow a health inspector to monitor all of your consumption and activities 24 hours a day during the approval period.
Comment by lee on 9/3 @ 8:33 pm #
Mandatory prostrate exams for all men marrying each other in Ohio.
You know, Edwards grass roots.
Comment by mateo_G on 9/3 @ 8:46 pm #
Preventive care is eating right and exercising - both are already free.
Comment by happyfeet on 9/3 @ 8:51 pm #
Edwards is going to be famous for this idea. It’s balloon fence writ large, with bonus totalitarianism.
Comment by Swen Swenson on 9/3 @ 9:26 pm #
The Good News: Under the Clinton/Edwards administration medical care will be free.
The Bad News: Under the Clinton/Edwards administration all the doctors will have fled the country or given up medicine for gainful employment.
The Good News: Under the Clinton/Edwards administration the seriously mentally ill will get the attention they deserve.
The Bad News: Under the Clinton/Edwards administration criticizing the administration will be a sign of serious mental illness.
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Comment by Gabriel Fry on 9/4 @ 10:07 am #
I, for one, welcome our new expertly-coiffed overlords. None of you reactionary luddites ever see the sunny side of Gattaca. No more catching colds at work! Hello?! It sounds worth it to me.
Comment by bour3 on 9/4 @ 10:19 am #
There’s entirely too much gum chewing going on. It should be stopped immediately. It makes a mess of sidewalks and it’s unhealthy if you swallow it. It should be the next thing after trans fat.
Comment by Robohobo on 9/9 @ 10:53 pm #
I, personally, am looking forward to the reeducation camps.
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