The White House Medicare Power Grab

White House wants more power to set Medicare rates

It's amazing to behold IMO. It wasn't a year ago when the media and their liberal legions were bemoaning the supposed power and authority that had been granted to the Bush White House unchallenged. From the Patriot Act, to the interrogation of prisoners, to the interception of phone calls and emails of foreign nationals communicating with others in known enemy countries.

In each instance those powers were held out to be abuses of power of the highest order and completely unwarranted. What a difference a year makes.

Here we are just barely past six months into the Obama administration and the level of powers that have been assumed and being sought after by this White House are unprecedented.

We now have a presidency that has assumed control over the banking industry, the auto industry and now wants to assume control over the health industry.

And just what does this White House request to limit medicare payments actually represent. Simply put, it means price fixing. Which on the surface may seem to be a rational approach and one that certainly appeals to the less than astute minds that believe life should be a free lunch. But in reality what it truly represents is that the power to regulate and control free enterprise, will be further enriched, regulated and controlled by government.

But more importantly, it will have the exact reverse effect on the people that it is supposedly designed to help. (sort of like the no new taxes pledge that was made before the election.)

It's a simple cause and effect calculation for anyone who cares to have a look. Once the government steps into to freeze and determine "reasonable costs" for medicare and medicaid payments? The result will be that many doctors and hospitals will simply refuse to treat medicare and medicaid patients under the existing pricing regulations.

In essence, the government can mandate the price of a commodity? But they cannot mandate either the sale or consumption of that commodity. The market always has an always will make those determinations. And all the socialism crammed down the throats of the people can never change that fact.

Just as those in communist countries have always found a way around oppressive government regulation, so too will Americans have to find a way to deal with what is presently being foisted upon them under the auspices of fairness and improvement.

Socialism is an oppressive and smothering form of government and the American people are about to learn that lesson in a terrible fashion.