What's New: 1998

December 21, 1998

Are You Ready for the Year 2000? - You've probably heard a lot about the Year 2000 computer problem, commonly referred to as the Y2K problem. . . Whether you're an optimistic or a doomsayer, there are some common sense steps everyone should take regarding health care information.

December 14, 1998

Institute for Health Freedom Joins Legal Brief in Fight for Seniors' Health Freedom. - If, as the Supreme Court held in Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, a person has a constitutionally protected right to refuse unwanted lifesaving medical treatment in order to die, then surely there exists an equal or even greater constitutional right to obtain wanted medical treatment in order to remain healthy and alive.

November 21, 1998

Protecting Americans' Medical Privacy: Why Congress Must Act or Be Acted Upon - Hundreds of individuals and organizations have access to your medical records now, whether you know it or not. The Congressional Research Service reports that according to one 1996 estimate, during the course of a hospital stay, as many as 400 people may see at least part of a patient's medical record.

November 9, 1998

Should senior citizens be able to contract privately for Medicare services? Hear both sides of the argument from speakers at a recent Cato Policy Forum. Note: This is a link to an audio message.

October 27, 1998

ACLU Joins Fight for Seniors' Health Freedom "A former associate justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota was refused a tetanus injection at an emergency room during treatment for a severe laceration. The emergency room personnel explained that Medicare might deem the injection unnecessary and would then refuse reimbursement. When Justice Loevinger offered to pay for the injection with his own funds, he was informed that under Medicare, the hospital could not allow him to make personal payment for treatment."

October 20, 1998

The Battle with the FDA For Patients' Rights: Will it Ever End? - The FDA exercises extraordinary power in life-and-death decisions for terminally ill patients, though many believe such decisions belong solely in the hands of individuals--not a federal regulatory agency.

October 13, 1998

The Medicare Commission Says It Wants Your Input...But Does it, Really? - Did anyone ever ask you whether we should use scarce Medicare dollars to pay for the training of doctors instead of, say, covering prescription drugs? Probably not. That's because Medicare decisions are usually made by large lobbying groups that have vested financial and political interests in the program.

October 7, 1998

Invasion of Medical Privacy - Several bills, approved and signed, contain pieces of an emerging system that will require every American to carry a photo ID that would include personal history stored on a magnetic strip or computer chip.

September 11, 1998

Senate Amendment to Stop National Healthcare ID Proposal - "A plan to assign every American a lifetime health-care ID number, similar to a Social Security number, could face new limits under a measure headed for Senate debate. A provision introduced Thursday [September 3] by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, would prohibit the Health and Human Services Department from going forward with the plan until Congress approves its specifics."

September 10, 1998

Tobacco Deal is Not About Reducing Teen Smoking Most politicians seem more interested in raising "new" money by passing new tobacco laws, rather than stopping teenage smoking by enforcing existing laws.

August 12, 1998

Are Children Adequately Protected In Biomedical Research Trials? Some advocacy groups are comparing the child-fenfluramine experiment to the government-funded Tuskegee trials of the 1940s, where blacks were intentionally denied treatment for veneral disease.

August 12, 1998

Institute for Health Freedom Sponsors A Health Policy Forum at the National Press Club

July 15, 1998

More Science, Less Spin A frequently heard criticism is that the aging NIH system is infested with scientific conservatism and that grant applicants prudently hold back novel proposals that might raise doubts among the scientifically orthodox. (Link to a Washington Post article)

June 24, 1998

Are American Children Being Lured Into Socialized Medicine? There are serious efforts underway to expand government health care for children. And most Americans know nothing about it. Fewer than one-third of Americans report hearing about a new federal program that could lay the ground work for nationalizing children's health care, restrict health care choices, infringe on parental rights and threaten medical privacy. Executive Summary.

June 12, 1998

Why Doctor Opted Out of Medicare

May 27, 1998

Federal Judge Rules: No Constitutional Right

Medicare "Scare" Campaign

May 12, 1998

Let Freedom Ring: Genetic Testing Unconstitutional

April 9, 1998

New Medicare Law Discriminates Against Certain Providers

March 20, 1998

Medicare Limits Senior Liberty

February 23, 1998

Patient Access to Alternative Treatments: Beyond the FDA: Testimony from congressional hearings on access to alternative medical treatments.

January 21, 1998

Health Freedom of Choice Index goes online! Take this quiz and find out where you stand on the road to health freedom.

January 20, 1998

Kidcare: Socialized Medicine Through Government Schools

Medicare's Origin: The Economics and Politics of Dependency

Software Pirates Congress never gave the FDA power to control medical practice. But the agency seized it anyway - by regulating software and computers.