If nothing else, the 20th Century should have taught us that evil rides on the
shoulders of those crying out “for the good of the people” or “in the name of
the children”. But in spite of the last 90 years of state run death and
destruction, humans continue to clamor for succor from their federal
governments. How ironic that the newspaper Pravda, once the mouthpiece for
the brutal Soviet regime, now prints op ed pieces decrying America’s movement
toward socialism at the same time Russia is decentralizing and embracing free
market capitalism.
The debate over health care has become a great magic show. The magicians, in
this case the Democratic run government players, are distracting us with their left
hand holding multiple bills, cost debates, comparisons to other nations, and even
the guest list for White House parties-- while with their right hands they are
curtailing our individual liberty and altering our moral compass. As Vladimir
Lenin wrote in the State and Revolution, “Medical Care is the keystone in the
arch of socialism.”
Please enjoy the articles on health care by clicking the tabs above. These
articles--some of which were published elsewhere--reflect my nearly 30 years of
clinical medicine, much of the time in solo private practice as an Orthopaedic
Spinal Surgeon, as well as my lifelong interest in history. -- Dr. Lee Hieb
shoulders of those crying out “for the good of the people” or “in the name of
the children”. But in spite of the last 90 years of state run death and
destruction, humans continue to clamor for succor from their federal
governments. How ironic that the newspaper Pravda, once the mouthpiece for
the brutal Soviet regime, now prints op ed pieces decrying America’s movement
toward socialism at the same time Russia is decentralizing and embracing free
market capitalism.
The debate over health care has become a great magic show. The magicians, in
this case the Democratic run government players, are distracting us with their left
hand holding multiple bills, cost debates, comparisons to other nations, and even
the guest list for White House parties-- while with their right hands they are
curtailing our individual liberty and altering our moral compass. As Vladimir
Lenin wrote in the State and Revolution, “Medical Care is the keystone in the
arch of socialism.”
Please enjoy the articles on health care by clicking the tabs above. These
articles--some of which were published elsewhere--reflect my nearly 30 years of
clinical medicine, much of the time in solo private practice as an Orthopaedic
Spinal Surgeon, as well as my lifelong interest in history. -- Dr. Lee Hieb
Gulag Doctor.com is the personal website of Dr. Lee
Hieb, physician, outspoken defender of the US
Constitution and opponent of socialized medicine.
Hieb, physician, outspoken defender of the US
Constitution and opponent of socialized medicine.
It's Visiting Hours so click
on LINKS to visit Other
sites of interest. You'll find
videos gone "viral" in the
VIDEO VIRAL WARD, and
some interesting e-mails
that are making the rounds
in "E-MAIL ROUNDS", learn
more about Lee Hieb in
MEET THE DOCTOR.
LEE HIEB IS AVAILABLE for
speaking engagements so
please clck on CONTACT
US to learn more.
on LINKS to visit Other
sites of interest. You'll find
videos gone "viral" in the
VIDEO VIRAL WARD, and
some interesting e-mails
that are making the rounds
in "E-MAIL ROUNDS", learn
more about Lee Hieb in
MEET THE DOCTOR.
LEE HIEB IS AVAILABLE for
speaking engagements so
please clck on CONTACT
US to learn more.
As a power-hungry centralized
federal government attempts to
take full control of the health care
industry, depriving both care
providers and patients of their
rights, GULAGDOCTOR.COM
is fighting back with truth,
information, common sense and
humor. Click on the above tabs for
a full dose of what the Doctor
prescribes...
federal government attempts to
take full control of the health care
industry, depriving both care
providers and patients of their
rights, GULAGDOCTOR.COM
is fighting back with truth,
information, common sense and
humor. Click on the above tabs for
a full dose of what the Doctor
prescribes...
My father was a small town country doctor and dentist. He made house calls, He set his
own hours and determined his own time off. As he got older, he limited his practice hours,
and the type of dentistry he did in order to maximize proift per time worked. At the most, he
made $25,000 a year -- enough to live comfortably, but not enough to completely pay his
only child’s post graduate education. He considered himself a free man.
I paid my way through a private Medical School by joining the Navy. After four years of
college, four years of medical school, five years of Orthopaedic Residency and four years of
payback time supporting the Marine Corps, I spent another year training to be a spinal
specialist. That year, 1989, as a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon, I grossed $15,000.
Finally, at age 34, I began making a decent living. I worked in a small city which was
underserved, was fully booked and did over 250 surgery cases a year. Nevertheless, after
working as a highly trained spinal surgeon for five years, I recognized that I could not get
financially ahead. I could pay my debts, but my overhead was escalating and my
reimbursement (80% of which was set by the government) diminished over 40%. Any profit
was taxed heavily. Unlike other businesses which can make up for diminishing profit margin
by selling more widgets, physicians are true cottage industries. We make our money one
patient at a time. I thought I could solve that problem by becoming a landlord and making
money not dependant on my hands. (Aging surgeons cannot operate forever). My husband
and I scrimped and saved for years to make a down payment on an office complex. After a
few years we began to see a little profit. But then, the county passed bonds -- new schools,
new palacial buildings for the local community college, and a 57 million dollar library complex
(a mausoleum to paper in a digital world). Suddenly my rental business was losing money. I
was working 80 hours and seven days a week and taking home less and less. I did not feel
free. I had become a slave to my government: federal, state and local.
Enter the bailout. The “stimulus.” I got no stimulus money, nor do I know any small
businessmen who did. Worse than that, we are the target for the tax increases needed so
other bigger businesses can be supported. As 2009 progressed, the future seemed bleak.
So what was the answer? Was it to see more patients? Of course not. The HMOs taught us
at least one thing: You cannot make profit in volume when you lose on every patient.
So recently, I quit. I sold everything, downsized my personal and professional life. I moved
to small town America, took a part time job with a hospital. Now, I see less than half of the
patients I once did, do no spinal surgery, and buy nothing but essentials and education for
my children. I once employed 2 full time and 5 part time employees. I contributed
significantly to the income of three factory representatives for the products I used in my
practice. I was the only supplier of a critical surgical skill to a population of 360,000 people
who now have no one. Now, I mostly contribute to the statistics on unemployment.
What’s wrong with slavery? Of course we all grew up with tales of the old South, with Massa
beating his slaves, using the women, and separating families. But truly, these tales of the
worst form of slavery do not describe the majority of Southern slave owners. Most took care
of their slaves because they were a high priced commodity. If a slave is well fed, clothed
and given medical care, allowed to live with his family, why would he object to being a
slave? Simple…he is not free. His labor is not his own. No matter how hard he works, the
fruits of his labor go to someone else. He is forced to live within the confines defined by the
slave owner. Those confines may be within a luxurious mansion, or within the limits of
136000 pages of medicare regulation, but he is always restricted to someone else’s limits.
The core evil of slavery is not in physical abuse -- because that is not an intrinsic property of
slavery -- but in the limitation of economic and personal freedom.
I have left the plantation. I still pay too much in taxes, but by working less I have less to tax,
and lots more free time to spend with my family. I can grow non taxable food, and give to
charity through non-taxable volunteer time. I can use my skills with tools to build and
renovate my own small house ( rather than treat patients, fight the government for
reimbursement, give half or more back to the government then use what’s left to have
someone else build me a house). Of course, President Obama, by declaring medical care a
right, may force doctors like me to work in his nationalized health service. After all, if
medical care is a right, the government may use force to insure that all people have that
right. But as every slave knows, “They can pretend to pay us, and we can pretend to work.”
Besides being immoral, slavery was not economically sound in 1840, and it is not any better
in 2009.
Medicine and the New Slavery
By Dr. Lee Hieb
Reprinted Courtesy of Human Events
By Dr. Lee Hieb
Reprinted Courtesy of Human Events
| American Medicine Under Siege |
