Important series of blog posts on Individual prerogative to purchase health care

Earlier I had cited the first in a series of posts by DrRich of the Covert Rationing Blog concerning the issue of
of the future of the right of an individual to purchase his own health care. See here for the fourth and final post from which one can link to the first three.

In light of the numerous reassurances that PPACA is not a government take over and that one's access to medical care will not be limited it is enlightening to think back to 1965 and the Medicare law which clearly stated :

....that nothing in the new law “shall be construed to preclude [an individual] from purchasing or otherwise securing protection against the cost of any health services.”

DrRich then describes in detail the limitations contained with the Medicare system that already restrict private arrangements between Medicare patients and physicians who participate in Medicare.Understand this mean limitations on the individual to purchase certain medical test or treatments or procedures. I quote


... amendment to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 - Section 4507 - which prohibited any self-pay contracts whatsoever between Medicare patients and their doctors for medical services which are covered under Medicare. Under Section 4507, which is still the law today, if a doctor provides even one self-pay medical service to a single Medicare patient, that doctor is punished by complete banishment from the Medicare program for at least two years.

The entire four part series is important and I urge followers of this blog to read it and take part in the discussion.