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The Latest Old Town Fire Dear Bob, Great article on the Ippel Building fire. All I know is that people better start taking care of things down there, otherwise Old Town is going to have to be re-named New Town! John VanBenschoten Saginaw Plan To Track Patients Evidence That the War on Terrorism Has Gone Too Far? The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released $1.1 billion and a plan to build government health surveillance systems in every state. The stated goal: to enhance public health infrastructure for bioterrorism preparedness. The plan: government access to everyone's medical record through their hospitals and doctor's offices. "The public was never consulted about this plan. The very idea that government officials plan to get a direct line into the medical records of patients should outrage citizens. Private medical records are not public data," said Twila Brase, R.N., president of Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC), a health care policy organization in St. Paul, Minnesota. Each state must draw up a plan to present to HHS by no later than April 15, 2002. Sixteen criteria must be part of each state plan, including: - Timeline for development of a statewide plan for response to a bioterrorist event, infectious disease outbreak, or other public health emergency. - Ability to receive and evaluate urgent disease reports from all parts of the jurisdiction on a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week basis. - Communication systems that provide a 24/7 flow of critical health information between hospital emergency departments, State and local health officials, and law enforcement. "The HHS plan represents a greater danger to patients than bioterrorism," said Brase. "Just knowing government officials and police officers will receive patient data without patient consent will change the way patients interact with the health care system. They may not tell their doctors the whole story. They may come for care too late. They may receive the wrong diagnoses, the wrong treatment, the wrong advice." Legislative requirements for meeting HHS criteria were built into the Model Emergency State Health Powers Act released in October by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The Act, now under consideration in all 50 State legislatures, requires ongoing reporting by health care providers and pharmacists to the state public health department. It also permits epidemiological research without patient consent, at both the state and federal level. "This plan is not just about bioterrorism. HHS officials plan to use patients for medical research without their consent," said Brase. "Public health officials have long expressed a desire to track and tag the entire population. They hope September 11th will make their dreams come true." The Review has two questions: 1) How long will it take for insurance companies to get and pass along this information to one another'; and, 2) How come $1.1 billion is available for this advanced form of espionage, yet the money is not available for Universal Prescription Plans? SB 930 - The Michigan Anti-Terrorism Act Contains a Number of Troubling Aspects The Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony currently on a series of anti-terrorism bills in the State of Michigan. The 'definition' language contained in these measures is overly broad and could include any public protest that gets out of hand (from Labor to Right-to-Life to United Nations or World Bank protests) could be treated as terrorism. Many acts that could be prosecuted are clearly not what most people think of as terrorism, especially insofar as criminal behavior can already be prosecuted more easily and adequately under existing criminal laws such as those of murder, arson, and kidnapping. The bill contains the phrase "or influence or affect the conduct of a government or unit of government." As responsible citizens, we may attempt to influence government, especially when we disagree with its actions. The fact that it is not a defense to a prosecution that the person charged did not have the intent or capability of committing the act of terrorism is most troubling. The Review urges you to contact your state legislators and express your concern and outrage regarding the language contained in these bills.
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