Betsy

By Betsy McCaughey Breast Cancer Awareness Month is here again, and this year it’s being used to promote a national health care overhaul. If cancer runs in your family, this political propaganda could be dangerous to your health. First Lady Michelle Obama stood with breast cancer survivors at a White House ceremony last Friday and

By Betsy McCaughey Doctors from across the country were invited to the White House on Oct. 5, but the president did most of the talking. Medical professionals are being ignored or vilified more often than consulted in the current health-care reform debate. To broaden the discussion, the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths invited 16 highly

By Betsy McCaughey Everyone knows that if you don’t pay to maintain and repair your car, you limit its life. The same is true as human beings age. We need medical care to avoid becoming clunkers – disabled, worn out, parked in wheelchairs or nursing homes. For nearly a half century, Medicare has enabled seniors

By Betsy McCaughey Patient advocate Betsy McCaughey intends to let Congress know what doctors fear most about the healthcare reforms it is considering. McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York, began gathering information about physicians’ concerns when she convened 16 of them in January to discuss healthcare. One of the doctors, kidney specialist Dr. Richard

By Betsy McCaughey Patient advocate Betsy McCaughey intends to let Congress know what doctors fear most about the healthcare reforms it is considering. McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York, began gathering information about physicians’ concerns when she convened 16 of them in January to discuss healthcare. One of the doctors, kidney specialist Dr. Richard

By Betsy McCaughey Health Reform: A recent IBD/TIPP Poll showed two-thirds of physicians opposing Congress’ proposed reforms, and warning of dire consequences. Now, a forum of prominent doctors has amplified those concerns. Of 1,376 doctors responding in late August, 65% opposed Congress’ reform plans; 45% said enactment would make them consider leaving their practice or

By Betsy McCaughey As the health-reform bills move through Congress, the prognosis for Medicare patients gets worse and worse. The Senate Finance Committee bill (generally called the Baucus bill, after Chairman Max Baucus) robs the elderly to cover the uninsured — like snatching purses from little old ladies. The House bills already cut future funding

By Betsy McCaughey When President Obama addresses Congress and the nation tonight, he should pledge to do three things. First, he should announce that he will discard the 1,018-page health bill drafted in the House of Representatives and replace it with a 20-page bill in plain English. Twenty pages should be sufficient. The framers of

By Betsy McCaughey Regarding Ingrid Komar’s Sept. 1 Health commentary, “Nothing to Get Scared About”: Ms. Komar wrote that under H.R. 3200, Medicare will cover end-of-life counseling and “medical professionals you choose would provide advice and guidance; you would be free to follow or to ignore it or not consult them at all.” Wrong. Simply

By Betsy McCaughey Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, health adviser to President Barack Obama, is under scrutiny. As a bioethicist, he has written extensively about who should get medical care, who should decide, and whose life is worth saving. Dr. Emanuel is part of a school of thought that redefines a physician’s duty, insisting that it includes