Under ObamaCare, Doctors Will Be Required to Report How Fat You Are

Another gem, this one from February 2009 stimulus bill, which President Obama threatened us with catastrophe if Congress didn't pass.

Starting 2014, health care practitioners will be required to report your height, weight, and BMI (body mass index) electronically to the national database, and that information will be available on a national exchange so that the community organizing groups have access to the record to help improve your health.

Here comes the fat tax, based on your BMI! An April Fool's Day joke by someone may turn out to be not much of a joke after all. I am sure the government will hand out subsidies, not tax, to certain racial minorities (and union members, probably).

Obesity Rating for Every American Must Be Included in Stimulus-Mandated Electronic Health Records, Says HHS (7/15/2010 CNS News)

"(CNSNews.com) – New federal regulations issued this week stipulate that the electronic health records--that all Americans are supposed to have by 2014 under the terms of the stimulus law that President Barack Obama signed last year--must record not only the traditional measures of height and weight, but also the Body Mass Index: a measure of obesity.

"The obesity-rating regulation states that every American's electronic health record must: “Calculate body mass index. Automatically calculate and display body mass index (BMI) based on a patient’s height and weight.”

"The law also requires that these electronic health records be available--with appropriate security measures--on a national exchange.

"The new regulations are one of the first steps towards the government’s goal of universal adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by 2014, as outlined in the 2009 economic stimulus law. Specifically, the regulations issued on Tuesday by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Dr. David Blumenthal the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology [aka Electronic Health Record Czar], define the "meaningful use" of electronic records. Under the stimulus law, health care providers--including doctors and hospitals--must establish "meaningful use" of EHRs by 2014 in order to qualify for federal subsidies. After that, they will be subjected to penalties in the form of diminished Medicare and Medicaid payments for not establishing "meaningful use" of EHRs.

"Section 3001 of the stimulus law says: "The National Coordinator shall, in consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies (including the National Institute of Standards and Technology), update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (developed as of June 3, 2008) to include specific objectives, milestones, and metrics with respect to the following: (i) The electronic exchange and use of health information and the enterprise integration of such information.‘‘(ii) The utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014."

"Under this mandate in the stimulus law, Secretary Sebelius issued a regulation--developed by Dr. Blumenthal--that requires that all EHRs keep track of a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) score. Body Mass Index is a ratio between a person’s weight and height, and is used to determine whether or not someone is overweight or obese. It is the preferred method of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for measuring obesity." [The article continues.]

And you ask why Americans are feeling down? It's not just because of the economy.

Tweet