The REAL Danger of H.R. 3200

During the Trojan War between the forces of Greece and Troy a tale of cunning strategy is told. After a long, ineffective siege on the city of Troy, the Greek army built a large empty horse and left it as a gift to the people of Troy. The priest, Laocoön, wanted to warn the city of Troy but was strangled by the henchmen of Athena. The King's daughter, Cassandra, warned that the horse would be the downfall of Tory. Nobody listened to the warnings. We all know what happened as a result.

Eerily, there are many similarities between this tale and the current health care reform bill in the House (HR 3200).

I have tried to digest HR 3200. I have scanned the entire document and then I went back to study it (in my spare time). I've only gotten through Title 1, Subtitle E but I am beginning to see why so many people are having a hard time describing the details of this bill.

The threat to the free-market form of health care that we have now, and the real possibility of creating a single-payer system is certainly something to be concerned with. But other than the government entering the game as a major health care financier, which is really a philosophical difference in the political arena, there are no policy initiatives in this bill. HR 3200 is simply the establishment of a structure; an empty shell. Advocates can only tell us what they "hope" the bill will do, and opponents can only say what we "fear" it will do. But this is exactly where the real danger lies.

Like the Trojan horse, this empty shell will be filled with people. Most of the people filling this horse will be appointed by whoever controls the White House in any given year. These individuals will be the ones defining what Essential Benefits are and, as a result, which medical procedures are mandated in any give medical situation. This, in turn, will determine which procedures are paid for by federal tax dollars.

Who will this administration pick to fill this horse? People like Tom Daschle, Kathleen Sebelius, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and John Holdren. These will be the policy makers for the current administration. The policies that these individuals champion are rationed health care, quality-of-life decision making, and unrestricted abortions even late in the pregnancy. These will be the frontline policy initiatives, but what policy ideas will next emerge from our Trojan horse? Genetic engineering, genetic determination of usefulness to society, population control, and diversity-weighted health care decisions have all been floated, if not promoted, by individuals in this likely pool of candidates. Who knows what else lurks inside this empty shell.

It is possible that the Athena's of today will strangle out the warnings of modern-day Laocoöns. And our fellow citizens may not listen to the warnings of the sons and daughters of the king. But the reality is that, after a long ineffective siege, a Trojan Horse has been presented to the city of Washington. We would be foolish not to learn from the lessons of history and fable.


Thanks for reading!