Health Reform Legislation Threatens Health Freedom
| Overview | |
| ANH-USA strongly opposed the healthcare bill for a variety of reasons. Our lead concern was that it reduces freedom of choice in healthcare. Now that the bill has passed by the narrowest of margins, we are evaluating legal options to try to overturn it. We are seeking to coordinate our actions in this regard with respected professional medical groups. We will also continue to monitor the bill closely. The next step will be administrative rulemakings to decide how it will actually be implemented. As vast as the bill was, the rulemaking will no doubt fill many more pages and presents endless opportunity for behind closed door deals or mischievous interpretations. We’ll continue to work to mitigate the damage caused by the healthcare bill and will keep everyone informed. Read More>> | |
| ******** Action Alerts for This Campaign ******** | |
 | Ask Congress to Save Health Savings Accounts! The Department of Health and Human Services has now issued its final guidelines on how to rebate money from insurance carriers that fail to reach the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) standards. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which help so many of us pay for complementary and alternative medical treatments not covered by regular insurance, may be forced out of the marketplace altogether. Under the new guidelines, any payment for a healthcare service that an individual or family makes — that is, any payment that’s part of the deductible — doesn’t count toward the MLR, so plans with high deductibles will never meet the plan eligibility requirements. That means insurance companies will stop offering them. Please contact Congress and ask them to intervene, and provide protection for HSAs. Read More>> Ask Congress to Amend the Patients’ Freedom to Choose Act! HR 605 and S 312 address two key savings programs important to consumers. Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow employees to be reimbursed for medical expenses, and help pay for complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments not covered by conventional health insurance. ANH-USA believes the bill should also contain explicit language to include supplements as part of allowable medical expenses for both FSAs and HSAs, and we’re also asking Congress to offer an amendment to the bill to do that. Read More>> Tell Congress to Expand “Eligible Medical Expenses” Coverage! The Retirement Health Investment Act of 2011—S.1098 in the Senate, HR.2010 in the House—would expand “eligible medical expenses” in the IRS code to include herbs, vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies, meal replacement products, and other dietary and nutritional supplements. We support the bill, but are asking for an amendment to repeal a section of the healthcare reform act that threatens the existence of HSAs. Read More>> |
| Read More About PPACA: | |
| Your Medical Records Are Part of a $19 Billion Experiment | |
 | Februrary 26, 2013 Fraudulent billing. Identity theft. Greater expense and inefficiency. Loss of privacy. And campaign donations from the companies benefiting most. Read More>> |
| Will New Federal Rules Save Health Savings Accounts? | |
 | December 4, 2012 Let’s hope so, since many of us depend on them for natural health expenditures. Read More>> |
| What the Supreme Court Decision Means for Integrative Medicine | |
 | July 3, 2012 You aren’t likely to read this anywhere else…. Read More>> |
| Government Rules Keeping Medicine in the Dark Ages | |
 | June 18, 2012 Not only in the Dark Ages. But way more expensive than it need be. Can you imagine what a car would cost if regulated this way? Read More>> |
| Will Millions of Newly Insured Patients Under Healthcare Reform Actually Be Insured? | |
 | April 3, 2012 healthcare reformMost of the recent discussion is about whether all or part of the Healthcare Act will get through the Supreme Court. But let’s assume for a moment that it does. Read More>> |
| Personal Identity Thieves Love Health Records | |
 | December 20, 2011 Security breaches are up 32%—but because of a loophole, if your patient data is stolen, you may not even be told about it! Read More>> |
| Chicago’s “Wellness” Program for City Employees— Imagine if This Went National! | |
 | September 27, 2011 If employed by Chicago, you’ll take whatever “preventive” medicine the city demands—or pay far more in insurance premiums! Read More>> |
| Conventional Medicine Runs Amok: Prostate, Breast, and Colon Screenings | |
 | May 24, 2011 Call it the sledgehammer approach to medicine. Rather than catching or curing disease, aggressive cancer screenings and unnecessary biopsies are actually spreading deadly “superbugs” among patients. Read More>> |
| Breaking News: Judge Rules that a Provision in the Administration’s Healthcare Act is Unconstitutional | |
 | December 14, 2010 A federal district judge in Virginia has ruled that one of the central provisions in President Obama’s healthcare act is unconstitutional. ANH-USA has filed an amicus brief on the same provision, but in a different jurisdiction. Read More>> |
| CDC Report on Life Expectancy—Latinos Live Longest. What Might This Tell Us About Medicine? | |
 | November 9, 2010 A new government report reveals that even though Hispanic Americans have lower income and less health insurance, they live longer than Caucasians (the most medically insured group in the US). Read More>> |
| ANH–USA Joins Healthcare Repeal Lawsuit | |
 | June 29, 2010 ANH–USA strongly opposed the recently enacted healthcare bill for a variety of reasons. We stand for the freedom of consumers to choose the type of healthcare they want, and the freedom of practitioners to practice without harassment. The healthcare reform act seriously impinges on both. So after a thorough review of our legal options, which took some time, we have decided to join a lawsuit that has been initiated by a distinguished group of physicians to have the act repealed. Read More>> |