New federal regulations issued this week stipulate that the electronic health records--that all Americans are supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year--must record not only the traditional measures of height and weight, but also the Body Mass Index: a measure of obesity.
The obesity-rating regulation states that every American's electronic health record must: “Calculate body mass index. Automatically calculate and display body mass index (BMI) based on a patient’s height and weight.”
Lovely. Those of you who are serious about weight lifting take note - muscle weighs more than fat. It's possible that even though you are incredibly in shape, you'll be flagged as "obese". From a site with a BMI calculator:
Although BMI can be used for most men and women, it does have some limits:
* It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
* It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.
The article also states that the health records will be available on the national exchange. Good luck getting insured (while there are still insurance companies other than the retards (and yes, I do mean retards Ms. Palin) in Washington.
Under the stimulus law, health care providers--including doctors and hospitals--must establish "meaningful use" of EHRs by 2014 in order to qualify for federal subsidies. After that, they will be subjected to penalties in the form of diminished Medicare and Medicaid payments for not establishing "meaningful use" of EHRs.
Doctors - this one is really simple. Stop accepting insurance. Stop accepting Medicare/Medicaid. Go back to directly seeing a local pool of patients who will pay you directly for your services. Drop your prices to something that will be in accordance with running a profitable and successful business, without being ripped off by the Feds and the Insurance Companies.
Screw the Washington Bureaucrats. Let them stew in the cesspool that is D.C, trying to get blood from the bankrupt stones that are many of the Liberal states, and lets get some 10th Amendment assertions and secessions going here folks. I'm tired of this crap.
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