by Diane Cohen
Goldwater Institute
President Barack Obama’s new health care law doesn’t just radically transform our nation’s medical system; it contains provisions that require discrimination on the basis of race.
It starts at page 516 of the more than 2,000 page law, in a section that allows the Obama administration to give grants and contracts to training hospitals and medical schools. In awarding this federal money, the law requires the administration to give preferences to hospitals and schools based on the racial makeup of their student body. Moreover, hospitals and schools who receive these federal funds must engage in race-based student recruitment as well.
In several letters to Congress, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission called on Congress to reject these discriminatory provisions and consider “proven methods of improving health care outcomes.” But the Civil Rights Commission said forcing medical schools to use race-based admissions policies assumes differences in the health of people from different races are caused by a shortage of doctors from those races. This misdiagnoses the problem, the Commission said, pointing to studies that show health care disparities do not result from a lack of medical professionals of particular races.
Further, the Commission stressed that congressionally-mandated affirmative action is likely to be thrown out as unconstitutional.
Certainly, attracting talented people to medicine is a worthy goal. But individuals should not be singled out and given special benefits based on their race to reach that goal. Likewise, the Obama administration should not force hospitals and schools to recruit students based on race to obtain federal money.
There is something we can do right here in Arizona to ensure equal treatment under the law. The Goldwater Institute is working in federal court to strike down the entire health care bill. Also, Arizona voters will consider Proposition 107 during the Nov. 2 general election. Called the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative, Prop. 107 offers an amendment to the state constitution that forbids race-based policies for any taxpayer-funded agency or program. The citizens of Arizona have the power to say “yes” to equal opportunity for all Arizonans, and “no” to unfair and unlawful policies that focus on anyone’s race or ethnic background.
Diane Cohen is an attorney with the Goldwater Institute Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.
And we’re surprised that a system designed to force everyone into a government designed medical straight jacket doesn’t also make the med schools fit into their own specially designed government approved model as well?
The roots of the 2,000+ page ObamaCare are in the 1,300+ page prequel HillaryCare. Rationing panels and government decree as to how many slots per medical speciality would be established. Evidently some of those extra pages added the “post-racial” elements we were supposed to have evolved past already.
“But the Civil Rights Commission said forcing medical schools to use race-based admissions policies assumes differences in the health of people from different races are caused by a shortage of doctors from those races. ”
Actually it assumes nothing. The data is overwhelming that, in general, members of minority groups are treated differently by doctors and are less likely to received the same level of care. Likely most people on this site don’t understand that, but I would think a policy expert at the GI would and would at least reference that fact.
We’ve gotten measurably higher quality treatment from Nigerian doctors than from minority and “white” American doctors, so how does that “data out” by “experts?”
Basing these things on “color” is bullsh–t.
Ever see what kind of crap treatment “minorities” dish out to “minorities?” Bah.
“Quack” is an Indian term.
If rigid quotas are established, then the schools will lower standards to fill those slots. The Democrats, full of high-falutin’ talk about “fairness” and “minorities” are in charge of our public schools. How many students do the unions graduate out who can meet the rigorous standards of medical school? These same failing Democrats then spend millions to block families from vouchers to send their poor minority kids to better schools. Education is supposed to be the BIG TICKET out of poverty, but the Democrats don’t provide it, they BLOCK it.
The FAIL starts in K-12, and is the fault of Democrats. They botch and bust poor kids chances for a better education, then want to rig the system to fob these un-equipped people off into medical school?
The Democrat and unions had those kids for 12 years and didn’t instill in them the tools they need to succeed in skilled professions. Now we’re supposed to ignore all that and permit the ill-equipped to make decision and treatment on life and death medical issues? Where was the sense of duty and vision to make sure every kid in class was challenged in academics and worked to their full potential?
WHo do you want carving open your chest to fiddle with your heart? The A+ guy who had to beat out the quotas to get into med school or the “pass” for the quota slot? How much time in school is spent on teaching “OBAMA hmmm hmmm Obama hmmm hmmm” instead of prep for biology?
If any republican had offered to vote for the bill, they would have had enormous influence in shaping the legislation. Since 100% decided to vote no, their opinions don’t matter. You have to give something to get something, or else you get nothing.