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What’s actually in the Healthcare Bill?
By
Michael E.
Published: August 9, 2009
What’s actually in the Healthcare Bill?
So you want to know what is actually in the health care bill? Below is a summation of all 1000+ pages, brought to you by Mathew D. Staver, Professor of Law Liberty Counsel - Liberty University School of Law and courtesy of Human Events.com:
Obama Health Care Plan Details
HR 3200 currently under consideration in the House of Representatives
*HC = “Health Care”
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Government will audit the books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC Bill – YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC Bill – THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get
Pg 42 of HC Bill – The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice!
Pg 50 Section 152 in HC Bill – HC will be provided to ALL non-U.S. citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58 HC Bill – Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances and a National ID Health Care Card will be issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your banks accounts for electronic funds transfer.
Pg 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in unions and community organizations (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government is creating a Health Care Exchange to bring private health care plans under government control.
Pg 84 Sec 203 HC Bill – Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private health care plans in the Exchange
Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill – Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The government will ration your health care!
Pg 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill – Government mandates linguistic appropriate services.
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The government will use groups i.e., ACORN & AmeriCorps to sign up individuals for government Health Care Plan
Pg 85 Line 7 HC Bill – Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members – Your health care WILL be rationed
Pg 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill – Medicaid Eligible Individual will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.
Pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue the government on price fixing. No “judicial review” against this government monopoly.
Pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill – Doctors/ #AMA – The government will tell YOU what you can make.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for health care for part-time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Employer w/ payroll 400k and above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
Pg 150 Lines 9-13 Businesses with payroll between 251k and 400k who do not provide public opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable health care according to government will be taxed 2.5% of income.
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay).
Pg 195 Officers & employees of HC Administration (GOVT) will have access to ALL Americans’ financial and personal records.
Pg 203 Line 14-15 HC – “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it says that.
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill – Doctors, it does not matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.
Pg 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of doctors’ time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
Pg 265 Sec 1131Government mandates and controls productivity for private health care industries.
Pg 268 Sec 1141 Federal Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
Pg 272 SEC. 1145. Treatment of certain cancer hospitals – Cancer patients – welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151 The government will penalize hospitals for what government deems preventable readmissions. (Incentives for hospital to not treat and release.)
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Doctors that treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission-Government will penalize you.
Pg 317 L 13-20 PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25, 1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Government is mandating hospitals cannot expand.
pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception, BUT community input required. Can you say ACORN?!!
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 – Government mandates establishment of outcome based measures. Health Care the way they want. Rationing.
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans (Part B), HMOs, etc. Forcing people into Government plan.
Pg 354 Sec 1177 – Government will RESTRICT enrollment of special needs people!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Government creates more bureaucracy – Tele-health Advisory Committee. Health care by phone/Internet?
Pg 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance [Death] Care Planning Consultion. Think Senior Citizens end of life.
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!
Pg 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death.
Pg 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life. The government has a say in how your life ends.
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “advanced care planning consult” will be used frequently as patient’s health deteriorates.
Pg 429 Lines 10-12 ” advanced care consultation” may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from Government.
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 – The government will specify which doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.
Pg 469 – Community Based Home Medical Services=Non-profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Services here!!?
Pg 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment to a community-based org. Like ACORN?
Pg 489 Sec 1308 The government will cover Marriage and Family therapy. They will insert government into your marriage.
Pg 494-498 Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services.
PG 502 Sec 1181 Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research Established. – Hello Big Brother – Literally.
Pg 503 Lines 13-19 Government will build registries and data networks from YOUR electronic medical records.
Pg 503 lines 21-25 Government may secure data directly from any department or agency of the U.S. who have any of your data.
Pg 504 Lines 6-10 The “Center” will collect data both published and unpublished (that means public and your private info).
PG 506 Lines 19-21 The Center will recommend policies that would allow for public access of data.
PG 518 Lines 21-25 The Commission will have input from Health Care consumer reps – Can you say unions and ACORN?
PG 524 18-22 Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund set up. More taxes for ALL.
PG 621 Lines 20-25 Government will define what quality means in health care. Since when does government know about quality?
Pg 622 Lines 2-9 To pay for the Quality Standards, government will transfer money from other government Trust Funds. More Taxes.
PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to assess outcomes and functional status of patients.
PG 624 “Quality” measures shall be designed to profile you including race, age, gender, place of residence, etc.
Pg 628 Sec 1443 Government will give “Multi-Stake Holders” Pre-Rule Making input into Selection of “Quality” Measures.
Pg 630 9-24/631 1-9 Those multi-stake holder groups include unions and groups like ACORN deciding health care quality.
Pg 632 Lines 14-25 The Government may implement any “Quality measure” of health care services as they see fit.
PG 633 14-25/ 634 1-9 The Secretary may issue non-endorsed “Quality Measures” for Physician Services and Dialysis Services.
Pg 635 to 653 Physicians Payments Sunshine Provision – Government wants to shine sunlight on doctor but not government.
Pg 654-659 Public Reporting on Health Care-Associated Infections – Looks okay.
PG 660-671 Doctors in Residency – Government will tell you where your residency will be, thus where you’ll live.
Pg 676-686 Government will regulate hospitals in EVERY aspect of residency programs, including teaching hospitals.
Pg 686-700 Increased Funding to Fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. Do they mean like the government with an $18 million website?
PGs 701-704 Sec 1619 If your part of health care plan isn’t in Government Health Care Exchange but you qualify for Federal aid, no payment.
PG 705-709 SEC. 1128 If Secretary gets complaints (ACORN) on health care provider or supplier, government can do background check.
PG 711 Lines 8-14 The Secretary has broad powers to deny health care providers/ suppliers admittance into Health Care Exchange. Your doctor could be thrown out of business.
Pg 719-720 Sec 1637 ANY Doctor who orders durable medical equipment or home medical services MUST be enrolled in Medicare.
PG 722 Sec 1639 Government MANDATES doctors must have face-to-face with patient to certify patient for Home Health Services.
PG 724 23-25 PG 725 1-5 The same government certifications will apply to Medicaid and CHIP (your kids).
PG 724 Lines 16-22 Government reserves right to apply face-to-face certification for patient to ANY other health care service.
Pg 735 lines 16-25 For law enforcement, proposes the Secretary-HHS will give Attorney General access to ALL data.
PG 740-757 Government sets guidelines for subsidizing the uninsured (That’s your tax dollars people).
Pg 757-762 Federal Government will shift burden of payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) to States. (Taxes)
Pg 763 1-8 No DS/EA hospitals will be paid unless they provide services without regard to national origin.
Pg 765 Sec 1711 Government will require Preventative Services including vaccines. (Choice?)
Pg 768 Sec 1713 Government – Nurse Home Visitation Services (Hello union paybacks).
Pg 769 11-14 Nurse Home Visit Services include economic self-sufficiency, employ adv, school-readiness.
Pg 769 3-5 Nurse Home Visit Services – “increasing birth intervals between pregnancies.” Government ABORTIONS anyone?
Pg 770 SEC 1714 Federal Government mandates eligibility for State Family Planning Services. Abortion and State Sovereignty.
Pg 789-797 Government will set, mandate drug prices, controlling which drugs brought to market. Bye innovation.
Pgs 797-800 SEC. 1744 PAYMENTS for graduate medical education. The government will now control doctors’ educations.
PG 801 Sec 1751 The government will decide which health care conditions will be paid. Can you say RATION!
Pg 810 SEC. 1759. Billing Agents, clearinghouses, etc. req. to register. Government takes over private payment system.
Pg 820-824 Sec 1801 Government will identify individuals ineligible for subsidies. Will access all personal financial information.
Pg 824-829 SEC. 1802. Government sets up Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund. Another tax black hole.
PG 829-833 Government will impose a fee on ALL private health insurance plans including self-insured to pay for Trust Fund!
PG 835 11-13 fees imposed by government for Trust Fund shall be treated as if they were taxes.
Pg 838-840 Government will design and implement Home Visitation Program for families with young kids and families expecting kids.
PG 844-845 This Home Visitation Program includes government coming into your house and telling you how to parent!!!
Pg 859 Government will establish a Public Health Fund at a cost of $88,800,000,000. Yes that’s billion.
Pg 865 The government will MANDATE the establishment of a National Health Service Corps.
PG 865 to 876 The NHS Corps is a program where doctors perform mandatory health care for two years for part loan repayment.
PG 876-892 The government takes over the education of our medical students and doctors.
PG 898 The government will establish a Public Health Workforce Corps to ensure supply of public health prof.
PG 898 The Public Health Workforce Corps shall consist of civilian employees of the U.S. as Secretary deems.
PG 898 The Public Health Workforce Corps shall consist of officers of Regular and Reserve Corps of Service.
PG 900 The Public Health Workforce Corps includes veterinarians.
PG 901 The Public Health Workforce Corps WILL include commissioned Regular and Reserve Officers. HC Draft?
PG 910 The government will develop, build, and run Public Health Training Centers.
PG 913-914 Government starts a health care affirmative action program thru guise of diversity scholarships.
PG 915 SEC. 2251. Government MANDDATES Cultural and linguistic competency training for health care professionals.
Pg 932 The Government will establish Preventative and Wellness Trust fund- initial cost of $30,800,000,000 billion.
PG 935 21-22 Government will identify specific goals & objectives for prevention & wellness activities. That means controlling YOU!!
PG 936 Government will develop “Healthy People and National Public Health Performance Standards” Tell me what to eat?
PG 942 Lines 22-25 More government? Offices of Surgeon General -Public Health Svc, Minority Health, Women’s Health
PG 950- 980 BIG GOVERNMENT core pub health infrastructure including workforce capacity, lab systems, health info sys, etc.
PG 993 Government will establish school based health clinics. Your kids won’t have a chance.
PG 994 School Based Health Clinic will be integrated into the school environment. Say government brainwash!
PG 1001 The government will establish a National Medical Device Registry. Will you be tracked?
Mathew D. Staver*
Founder and Chairman Dean and Professor of Law
Liberty Counsel Liberty University School of Law
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
this from SALON shows what Pat is talking about...
harryandlouise.org
A screen shot from the Harry and Louise "Get the Job Done" commercial.
Aug. 4, 2009 | Next year we'll spend $17 billion in Medicare dollars on an oxymoron: preventing inevitable death. So forget for a moment the plans coming out of Washington. Curing healthcare is not a question of Obama's blue pill or Obama's red pill. The answer may be no pill at all.
At the end of our long and increasingly longer lives, when we are terminally ill and in the last months of life, we must accept our bodies' decline, face our own mortality, gather our families and say goodbye. Say no to feeding tubes, ventilators, resuscitators, the isolation of ICU.
End-of-life care eats up 12 percent of U.S. healthcare dollars; next year, we'll spend $135 billion on it. That's not money spent getting well and extending life, that's money spent preventing and easing death in terminally ill patients. Indeed, 40 percent of Medicare dollars are spent in the last 30 days of life.
Where does the money go? Hospitals. Half of us die in hospitals, 20 percent of us in their ICU beds, which cost 10 times as much, on a daily basis, as hospice care. ICU costs $1,500 daily; on average, $10,900 the first day.
Don't blame hospitals or physicians. We check in, we ask to be saved. Doctors provide care; they're not supposed to cut off or limit care. Besides, they might get sued.
so Salon suggests we simply don't help the sick elderly....
harryandlouise.org
A screen shot from the Harry and Louise "Get the Job Done" commercial.
Aug. 4, 2009 | Next year we'll spend $17 billion in Medicare dollars on an oxymoron: preventing inevitable death. So forget for a moment the plans coming out of Washington. Curing healthcare is not a question of Obama's blue pill or Obama's red pill. The answer may be no pill at all.
At the end of our long and increasingly longer lives, when we are terminally ill and in the last months of life, we must accept our bodies' decline, face our own mortality, gather our families and say goodbye. Say no to feeding tubes, ventilators, resuscitators, the isolation of ICU.
End-of-life care eats up 12 percent of U.S. healthcare dollars; next year, we'll spend $135 billion on it. That's not money spent getting well and extending life, that's money spent preventing and easing death in terminally ill patients. Indeed, 40 percent of Medicare dollars are spent in the last 30 days of life.
Where does the money go? Hospitals. Half of us die in hospitals, 20 percent of us in their ICU beds, which cost 10 times as much, on a daily basis, as hospice care. ICU costs $1,500 daily; on average, $10,900 the first day.
Don't blame hospitals or physicians. We check in, we ask to be saved. Doctors provide care; they're not supposed to cut off or limit care. Besides, they might get sued.
so Salon suggests we simply don't help the sick elderly....
NICE, intends to slash by 95 percent the number of steroid injections, such as cortisone, given to people who suffer severe and chronic back pain.
"Specialists fear," said the Telegraph, "tens of thousands of people, mainly the elderly and frail, will be left to suffer excruciating levels of pain or pay as much as 500 pounds each for private treatment."
Obamacare's "proposal to pay physicians who counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical treatment they would prefer near the end of life and how to prepare instructions such as living wills," and there is little doubt as to what is coming.
doctors have assisted the terminally ill in ending their lives. Indeed, it has been reported that indigent, sick and elderly patients who could not make the decision for themselves had it made for them.
Before he took to ending the lives of patients who were not terminal, but sick and depressed, Dr. Kevorkian had his admirers. Not infrequently, one reads of nursing homes where the infirm and elderly have been put to death.
Beneath this controversy lie conflicting concepts about life.
To traditional Christians, God is the author of life and innocent life, be it of the unborn or terminally ill, may not be taken. Heroic means to keep the dying alive are not necessary, but to advance a natural death by assisting a suicide or euthanasia is a violation of the God's commandment, Thou shalt not kill.
ht pat b
"Specialists fear," said the Telegraph, "tens of thousands of people, mainly the elderly and frail, will be left to suffer excruciating levels of pain or pay as much as 500 pounds each for private treatment."
Obamacare's "proposal to pay physicians who counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical treatment they would prefer near the end of life and how to prepare instructions such as living wills," and there is little doubt as to what is coming.
doctors have assisted the terminally ill in ending their lives. Indeed, it has been reported that indigent, sick and elderly patients who could not make the decision for themselves had it made for them.
Before he took to ending the lives of patients who were not terminal, but sick and depressed, Dr. Kevorkian had his admirers. Not infrequently, one reads of nursing homes where the infirm and elderly have been put to death.
Beneath this controversy lie conflicting concepts about life.
To traditional Christians, God is the author of life and innocent life, be it of the unborn or terminally ill, may not be taken. Heroic means to keep the dying alive are not necessary, but to advance a natural death by assisting a suicide or euthanasia is a violation of the God's commandment, Thou shalt not kill.
ht pat b
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
New Yorker health plan
There is an excellent piece in the New Yorker on two Texas hospitals, in similar towns, with similar health. One hospital bills twice the other, since the doctor's are over-prescribing and over-treating in the expensive hospital. Obama thinks this is the big deal and this article reflects a lot of what the hew health plan may have in it.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?yrail
My own rebuttals:
1. Medicare is at present about twice as much per procedure as private medicine. The real expense comes when doctors get paid by over-treating under Medicare and Medicaid.
2. Who should prevent me from spending my own money or a luxury insurance policy if I want hi-tech and complete care?
3. The article implies that the new medicine is not much use. The small benefits are counteracted by the risks of additional procedures. This lie is almost criminal.
4. The author claims that malpractice insurance is not an important factor is playing it safe with extra tests, and this is also a lie.
5. The article suggests that government should interfere with medical decisions when it is exactly that government interference that has caused so much trouble.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande?yrail
My own rebuttals:
1. Medicare is at present about twice as much per procedure as private medicine. The real expense comes when doctors get paid by over-treating under Medicare and Medicaid.
2. Who should prevent me from spending my own money or a luxury insurance policy if I want hi-tech and complete care?
3. The article implies that the new medicine is not much use. The small benefits are counteracted by the risks of additional procedures. This lie is almost criminal.
4. The author claims that malpractice insurance is not an important factor is playing it safe with extra tests, and this is also a lie.
5. The article suggests that government should interfere with medical decisions when it is exactly that government interference that has caused so much trouble.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
ht newsmax
Statins, noted for reducing cholesterol levels that can increase the risk of heart disease, also can protect nerve cells against brain damage that occurs in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.
The results of the research of Amalia Dolga of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and her co-investigators is published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
High cholesterol levels are a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease, including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease Therefore, many cholesterol-lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years.
The process that kills nerve cells of patients with Alzheimer's disease is complex, but the cells eventually die because they are strongly overstimulated, a process called excitotoxicity.
Dolga and colleagues overstimulated such nerve cells and clearly demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions.
The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study, Dolga had showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain's immune response.
Dolga has demonstrated in animal experiments that this tumor necrosis factor has a strong beneficial effect on nerve cells and can protect nerve cells against death. A widely prescribed drug like statins can activate this protective pathway revealing strong beneficial effect.
Statins, noted for reducing cholesterol levels that can increase the risk of heart disease, also can protect nerve cells against brain damage that occurs in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.
The results of the research of Amalia Dolga of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and her co-investigators is published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
High cholesterol levels are a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease, including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease Therefore, many cholesterol-lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years.
The process that kills nerve cells of patients with Alzheimer's disease is complex, but the cells eventually die because they are strongly overstimulated, a process called excitotoxicity.
Dolga and colleagues overstimulated such nerve cells and clearly demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions.
The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. In a previous study, Dolga had showed that these statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain's immune response.
Dolga has demonstrated in animal experiments that this tumor necrosis factor has a strong beneficial effect on nerve cells and can protect nerve cells against death. A widely prescribed drug like statins can activate this protective pathway revealing strong beneficial effect.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
No mention under healthcare about liberty, freedom, the right to live my own life without some government bureaucrat making rules about my health habits. Once the single payer system is in, every rule can be based on my habit costs the system money. Freedom is waning and authoritarian government is growing like wildfire. There is still a chance. When the Republicans return to office, they can fund Medicaid and Medicare with built in delays such as Canada, and assigned physicians. The private care industry should have almost all rules removed so they can compete effectively.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The new Healthcare emphasis scares me a bit. It makes sense to spend money on prevention, except that it won't save a dime. To take a smoker who will die at an early age, of a disease that is uncurable and quick, and transform them into a healthy person, who lives for years, has numerous and expensive treatments over a long life, is a good thing, but it doesn't save money. Also, our best new diagnosis tools are the high tech scanners, and our best strategy is to permit lots of these to drive the price of a scan down. That won't happen.
The key to lowering health care cost is to persuade someone headed to the emergency room for a toothache or an upset stomach to go to a CVS clinic instead. Another key is for all Medicare and Medicaid service to be HMO programs, where unnecessary treatments are not reimbursed.
The final solution to the cost problem is to have a very inexpensive catastrophic very high deductible insurance policy available for everyone
The key to lowering health care cost is to persuade someone headed to the emergency room for a toothache or an upset stomach to go to a CVS clinic instead. Another key is for all Medicare and Medicaid service to be HMO programs, where unnecessary treatments are not reimbursed.
The final solution to the cost problem is to have a very inexpensive catastrophic very high deductible insurance policy available for everyone
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
ht ny times 6-16-09
“People who would not be able to stop at one to two drinks a day shouldn’t drink, and people with liver disease shouldn’t drink,” Dr. Klatsky said. On the other hand, “the man in his 50s or 60s who has a heart attack and decides to go clean and gives up his glass of wine at night — that person is better off being a moderate drinker.”
The association was first made in the early 20th century. In 1924, a Johns Hopkins biologist, Raymond Pearl, published a graph with a U-shaped curve, its tall strands on either side representing the higher death rates of heavy drinkers and nondrinkers; in the middle were moderate drinkers, with the lowest rates. .....Alcohol is believed to reduce coronary disease because it has been found to increase the “good” HDL cholesterol and have anticlotting effects. Other benefits have been suggested, too. A small study in China found that cognitively impaired elderly patients who drank in moderation did not deteriorate as quickly as abstainers. A report from the Framingham Offspring Study found that moderate drinkers had greater mineral density in their hipbones than nondrinkers. Researchers have reported that light drinkers are less likely than abstainers to develop diabetes, and that those with Type 2 diabetes who drink lightly are less likely to develop coronary heart disease.
The meeting, like much of Dr. Ellison’s work, was partly financed by industry grants. And the summary was written by him and Marjana Martinic, a senior vice president for the International Center for Alcohol Policies, a nonprofit group supported by the industry. The center paid for tens of thousands of copies of the summary, which were included as free inserts in two medical journals, The American Journal of Medicine and The American Journal of Cardiology.
In an interview, Dr. Ellison said his relationship with the industry did not influence his work, adding, “No one would look at our critiques if we didn’t present a balanced view.”
Dr. Fillmore and the co-authors of her analysis posted an online commentary saying the summary had glossed over some of the deep divisions that polarized the debate at the conference. “We also dispute Ellison and Martinic’s conclusions that more frequent drinking is the strongest predictor of health benefits,” they wrote.
Still, some small clinical trials are already under way to see whether diabetics can reduce their risk of heart disease by consuming alcohol. In Boston, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are recruiting volunteers 55 and over who are at risk for heart disease and randomly assigning them to either drink plain lemonade or lemonade spiked with tasteless grain alcohol, while scientists track their cholesterol levels and scan their arteries.
“But this is a really important question,” he continued. “Because here we have a readily available and widely used substance that may actually have a significant health benefit — but we just don’t know enough to make recommendations.”
“People who would not be able to stop at one to two drinks a day shouldn’t drink, and people with liver disease shouldn’t drink,” Dr. Klatsky said. On the other hand, “the man in his 50s or 60s who has a heart attack and decides to go clean and gives up his glass of wine at night — that person is better off being a moderate drinker.”
The association was first made in the early 20th century. In 1924, a Johns Hopkins biologist, Raymond Pearl, published a graph with a U-shaped curve, its tall strands on either side representing the higher death rates of heavy drinkers and nondrinkers; in the middle were moderate drinkers, with the lowest rates. .....Alcohol is believed to reduce coronary disease because it has been found to increase the “good” HDL cholesterol and have anticlotting effects. Other benefits have been suggested, too. A small study in China found that cognitively impaired elderly patients who drank in moderation did not deteriorate as quickly as abstainers. A report from the Framingham Offspring Study found that moderate drinkers had greater mineral density in their hipbones than nondrinkers. Researchers have reported that light drinkers are less likely than abstainers to develop diabetes, and that those with Type 2 diabetes who drink lightly are less likely to develop coronary heart disease.
The meeting, like much of Dr. Ellison’s work, was partly financed by industry grants. And the summary was written by him and Marjana Martinic, a senior vice president for the International Center for Alcohol Policies, a nonprofit group supported by the industry. The center paid for tens of thousands of copies of the summary, which were included as free inserts in two medical journals, The American Journal of Medicine and The American Journal of Cardiology.
In an interview, Dr. Ellison said his relationship with the industry did not influence his work, adding, “No one would look at our critiques if we didn’t present a balanced view.”
Dr. Fillmore and the co-authors of her analysis posted an online commentary saying the summary had glossed over some of the deep divisions that polarized the debate at the conference. “We also dispute Ellison and Martinic’s conclusions that more frequent drinking is the strongest predictor of health benefits,” they wrote.
Still, some small clinical trials are already under way to see whether diabetics can reduce their risk of heart disease by consuming alcohol. In Boston, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are recruiting volunteers 55 and over who are at risk for heart disease and randomly assigning them to either drink plain lemonade or lemonade spiked with tasteless grain alcohol, while scientists track their cholesterol levels and scan their arteries.
“But this is a really important question,” he continued. “Because here we have a readily available and widely used substance that may actually have a significant health benefit — but we just don’t know enough to make recommendations.”
Sunday, June 14, 2009
ht http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/131839
Putting statins out of business?
But the Israeli team finds it could work in heart disease as well: iron corroles are also able to provide reversal effects of arterial sclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, says Gross. With a different mode of action than gallium corroles, "We took mice prone to develop arterial sclerosis and treated them with the same family of compounds. It's a very potent antioxidant," he says. "It's interfering with the process causing arterial sclerosis."
"We already know about green tea, red wine, or pomegranate," he explains, noting that his innovation is better than natural antioxidants that at same stage can also attack vital biomolecules. The therapy was shown to work in successful pre-clinical studies, while the medicinal value of corroles, says Gross, was something his Technion lab initiated 10 years ago.
"We discovered how to synthesize corroles and are the main people pushing forward the fundamentals of science," says Gross, noting the applications are wide and three-fold in catalysis, in medicine, and in renewable energy.
Funding for the research was provided by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the National Science Foundation in the US, the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Defense, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Donna and Jesse Garber Award, the Gurwin Foundation, and the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
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